5 reasons why Michael Chandler would beat Dustin Poirier in a potential matchup (and 5 reasons he won't)

#8. Can: Dustin Poirier is easy to back up

Dustin Poirier is a curious case. His evolution as a fighter has turned him into a competent counter-puncher who uses the Philly Shell to deflect incoming punches with his shoulders, elbows, and the top of his head while returning fire against overzealous opponents.

It has made him extremely comfortable in pocket exchanges. Thus, Poirier never addressed his tendency to cede space.

When Poirier's opponents pressure him, 'The Diamond' retreats and has no qualms about being sandwiched between his foe and the fence. He is comfortable fighting with his back against the cage, famously countering Conor McGregor in their initial rematch at UFC 257 while his own back was against the fence. This, however, would be a mistake against Michael Chandler.

As he is shorter and stockier than Poirier, Michael Chandler can crowd his foe against the fence in a way that McGregor couldn't. The Irishman fought from a specific counterpunching range that left Poirier with enough breathing room to respond with counters of his own.

Chandler, on the other hand, is one of the shortest lightweights in the world and always looks to cover as much distance as possible.

With little space between them at close range, Michael Chandler's shorter arms will be able to throw with significant power. This will be while Poirier is trapped against the fence without the space and leverage for his longer arms to return fire because 'Iron' will have to be very close to land his own shots.

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#7. Can't: Dustin Poirier's shifting combinations

One of the most visible tools in Dustin Poirier's striking arsenal is his stance-switching. Specifically, the former UFC interim lightweight champion switches stances mid-combination.

Often-times, he's standing in his usual southpaw stance before throwing a straight left and shifting into orthodox halfway through the punch to land an overhand right.

This is a highly effective tactic whenever Poirier faces orthodox fighters like Chandler because it changes the alignment of his punches from his opponent's closed side to their open side. The closed side of orthodox fighters is their right side because their right hand is their rear hand, which is tucked close to the chin.

As Poirier's left hand is aligned with their right hand, his shifts start in closed guard before ending in his opponent's open guard as his overhand right thunders through the gap on their exposed left side, provided his foe is an orthodox fighter like Chandler.

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#6. Can: Michael Chandler's fakes and setups

While there's no disputing that Michael Chandler's fighting style benefits massively from his athletic gifts, there is a foundation of technique beneath it all. 'Iron' makes use of traps and fakes to create openings for his most devastating strikes.

For example, Chandler has—as do many wrestlers who transition into MMA—faked takedowns for the benefit of his punches.

The former world champion changes levels, dipping low as if intent on pursuing a takedown, causing his opponents to drop their hands in anticipation. When his opponents do so, they end up realizing that Michael Chandler had no intention of pursuing the takedown as he throws an overhand right over the top. This is one of Chandler's many fakes.

His knockout win over Dan Hooker is another example of the less celebrated aspects of his striking. Michael Chandler spent the opening minutes of the first round targeting Hooker's midsection with a straight right.

Smartly, 'Iron' didn't use any follow-up strikes, conditioning his foe into assuming there was no consequence to circling away from his straight right to the body.

Once that reaction was burned into Hooker's mind, Michael Chandler intercepted him with an overhand left as 'The Hangman' circled away from his foe's right straight to the body as he had several times in the bout.

Only this time, he unknowingly circled into the arc of an overhand left that ended his night. With the amount of firepower his punches carry, Chandler only needs to disarm Poirier a handful of times with fakes and setups before they pay dividends.

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#5. Can't: Michael Chandler's vulnerability to counterpunches

One of the most identifiable aspects of Michael Chandler's fighting style is that it depends on his willingness to pressure his foes. The All-American typically refuses to take a step backwards and this is most evident due to the amount of weight he commits to his punches.

Whenever 'Iron' throws punches, he steps in very deep. While this magnifies his natural punching power, it also means he engineers his own demise whenever a successful counterpunch lands.

Similarly, this is why Holly Holm repeatedly rocked Ronda Rousey in their striking exchanges despite Holm's reputation as a pillow-fisted striker.

Michael Chandler, like Rousey, has a habit of running into his opponent's punches due to the amount of weight he pours into his punches when he steps forward so deeply.

He creates a lot of momentum, which means that when his foes stick their fists in front of his face, he's all but recreating a car crash as he runs into punches he never saw coming.

Against Poirier, who has evolved into a skilled counterpuncher by using his Philly Shell to deflect his opponent's blows with his elbows, shoulders, and the top of his head, before countering them as they overextend, Michael Chandler's knack for overextending and running into punches could lead to an early end to his night.

In fact, this is how Patricio 'Pitbull' Freire knocked Chandler unconscious in their rematch. The All-American stepped in deep as he threw a jab, only for 'Pitbull' to slip on the inside of Chandler's jab and counter him over the top with an overhand right as his rival committed all of his weight to the jab.