A blockbuster bout between Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler is being worked on to headline the UFC 281 which will take place on 12 November (American time) at Madison Square Garden in New York.
The flames to a speculative fire were added when Chandler and Poirier were involved in a verbal spat during UFC 276 with the teams of both fighters expecting the fight to come to fruition as a result.
There are still some hurdles that need to be cleared as according to ESPN’s Brett Brett Okamoto, Chandler is pushing for a December bout while Poirier is advocating for a five-rounder instead of three.
The fight holds importance for both as Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler are ranked second and fifth in the lightweight division rankings with the winner arguably next in line to challenge for the belt in 2023.
Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev are scheduled to meet for the vacant lightweight belt at UFC 280 in October.
Poirier has not fought in the Octagon since losing to then-lightweight champion Oliveira at UFC 269 last December.
His defeat snapped a three-fight winning streak, which included two stoppage wins over Conor McGregor.
“The Diamond” spent much of 2022 campaigning for a fight with Nate Diaz, but the UFC decided to book Diaz vs Khamzat Chimaev instead.
Chandler, meanwhile, snapped his two-fight losing streak against Justin Gaethje and Oliveira by knocking out Tony Ferguson in May in what many call the “knockout of the year”.
