"He disrespected me right away" - Michael Chandler on "tug of war" between him and Dustin Poirier ahead of UFC 281 fight at Madison Square Garden

Michael Chandler recently got to the bottom of his presumed grudge match against Dustin Poirier ahead of their scheduled bout at UFC 281. The No.5-ranked UFC lightweight ellaborated on the origin of their differences and categorized it as a competitive clash.

The former three-time Bellator lightweight champion made his UFC debut against Dan Hooker at UFC 257. Chandler put the division on notice with a spectacular first-round TKO victory over Hooker.

The same card was headlined by a rematch between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor. 'The Diamond' emerged victorious and avenged his loss against the Irishman after seven years.

Michael Chandler claimed that while Poirier grabbed the opportunity to call his shot against the best names in the sport, he intentionally kept the former Bellator champion's name out of discussion. This did not sit well with Chandler and the pair got into a heated argument at UFC 276.

The promotion of the fight is intensifying by the day and new angles to the narrative have come to light. What was once cited as animosity has now been clarified as competitive differences. Speaking with MMA Junkie in a recent interview, Michael Chandler said:

"I think there's just a tug of war between two dudes who've got the same goal. His [Dustin Poirier's] goal is to step inside the octagon and beat me and get his hand raised and continue to prove that he's one of the best in the world.. I have the exact same goal."

Chandler added:

"There's some things that have been said. He disrespected me right away and said, 'I'd rather sell hot sauce.' I said that I'm a bigger draw than him. We've said some things that maybe we do believe, maybe we don't really believe."

Catch the interview below:

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Michael Chandler claims that having a bad blood with opponents is not favorable to him

Top-ranked UFC lightweight fighters Michael Chandler and Dustin Poirier will lock horns at the UFC 281 pay-per-view next month. The event will take place on November 12, 2022, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.

The silver-tongued lightweight has crossed over to the UFC competently, thanks to his enigmatic charisma and rip-roaring display in fights. In the same interview with MMA Junkie, Chandler stated that while he thrives under bright lights, he'd rather just fight with a competitive mindset than have retribution in mind:

"I've had some bad bloods with some guys in the past and it has never worked out well spiritually. It does not sit right with me, it does not sit well with me from showing up on fight night and putting my best foot forward and having my best performance."

Chandler is coming off a sensational knockout victory over former interim champion Tony Ferguson. A win over Poirier, who occupies the No.2 spot in the rankings, will put him back in the title mix. The lightweight title will be contested later this month between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi.