Islam Makhachev’s former teammate backs Dustin Poirier’s claims, doubles down on Michael Chandler’s controversial fighting style: “Confirms a lot"

Dustin Poirier reiterated his dislike of Michael Chandler during a recent appearance on the Outta Pocket Podcast. Ahead of their clash at UFC 281, the pair shared some heated words with each other. 'The Diamond' took issue with Chandler's differing personas toward him and labeled the former Bellator MMA champion as "fake."

Poirier's recent podcast appearance saw him revisit the aspects of 'Iron' that annoyed the Louisiana native so much. The former UFC interim lightweight champion also shared the dirty tactics that Chandler employs during his fights, something that had long been voiced by a former teammate of Islam Makhachev's, Josh Thomson.

During Thomson's time working as a Bellator MMA analyst, he shared numerous interactions with Chandler. Once the Missouri native moved the UFC, Thomson disclosed the "real" side of 'Iron' that fans did not get to witness.

The Bellator MMA analyst shared his genuine dislike of the 38-year old and has backed up Poirier's recent comments after coming across them on X. Thomson wrote:

"This interview that @RGIII did with @DustinPoirier confirms a lot of things that fighters have said for years about Chandler."

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Dustin Poirier shuts down Justin Gaethje's claim that he was offered UFC 313 clash

UFC 313 will be headlined by a light heavyweight title clash between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev. The co-main event was scheduled to feature an exciting lightweight clash between Justin Gaethje and Dan Hooker, but the Kiwi suffered a broken hand and was forced to withdraw from the matchup.

Several lightweight contenders put their hand up to replace the injured Hooker, but a clash between Rafael Fiziev and Gaethje, who previously fought at UFC 286, was booked by the promotion.

Following the fight's announcement, 'The Highlight' took to X to share a list of fighters who had been offered the fight, but "understandably" turned it down. On that list was Dustin Poirier, a surprising addition given Poirier's candidness about having one more fight in his career.

Gaethje wrote:

"Arman and Charles understandably said no. Max and Dustin understandably said no. Moicano got the call and said no. Props to Fiziev for volunteering to fly across the world..."

The Louisiana native replied with:

"I never got the call, I didn't say no... I'm the one who reached out to them when I read the news. Ask hunter, all respect to you and fizeav, looking forward to this one again."