Dustin Poirier vs. Michael Chandler: How many rounds is the fight?

Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler will fight for three rounds on the main card of UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The fight will precede the two title cards of the event: Carla Esparza vs. Zhang Weili in the co-main event, and Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira as the headliner.

Dustin Poirier is coming off a third-round submission loss to former champ Charles Oliveira at UFC 269. 'The Diamond' is currently the No. 2-ranked lightweight in the UFC. 'Iron' Michael Chandler is coming off a second-round knockout win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 274. Chandler is ranked No. 5 on the UFC's lightweight roster.

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Dustin Poirier vs. Michael Chandler: A fight fan's dream match-up

Dustin Poirier has a UFC record of 20-6-1 and an overall MMA record of 28-7-1. He stands at 5'9" (175 cm) and has a reach of 72 inches.

The Louisiana-native has some of the best boxing in the organization with 15 career wins by knockout. He is also an excellent grappler with a black belt in jiu-jitsu under Tim Credeur, and six submission victories in his career.

Poirier won the interim lightweight title after beating Max Holloway at UFC 236. He lost the title in a unification bout with the then champion Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242. He is the only man to have knocked out Irish superstar Conor McGregor in the latter's entire career.

'Iron' Michael Chandler entered the UFC with a 21-5 record after an illustrious MMA career in organizations like Strikeforce and Bellator. He is a three-time Bellator lightweight champion.

He has a UFC record of 2-2 and an overall MMA record of 23-7. Chandler stands at 5'6" (169 cm) and has a reach of 71 inches. He is a knockout artist with excellent grappling credentials as an NCAA Division-1 wrestler. He has 11 wins by knockout, and seven submission victories in his career.

Chandler is one of two fighters in the UFC to have stopped Tony Ferguson with strikes. However, Chandler is the only man to have knocked 'El Cucuy' out clean in his entire career.

The fight between Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler is a fight-fan's dream match-up, as it features two of the best lightweights in the world. On paper, this fight shouldn't go to the judges' scorecards, as both fighters are certified finishers with a combined 26 knockouts.

The winner of this bout could possibly fight for the title or the No. 1 contender spot.