A previously rumored lightweight clash between Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler now has a date and venue.
UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell informed promotion broadcast partner ESPN on Wednesday that the fight will take place at UFC 281 on Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York. In addition to that news, Chandler has signed a new, multi-fight deal with the UFC. Poirier vs. Chandler will be contested over three rounds, although Poirier reportedly wanted it to be a five-round bout. Chandler, meanwhile, initially hoped for the matchup to take place in December.
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Tensions are already high between the two lightweights. Poirier and Chandler were involved in a brief confrontation while attending UFC 276 at the T-Mobile Arena in Vegas on July 2. While it’s unclear what started the altercation, both men had to be separated by security while they yelled obscenities and threats at one another.
Poirier hasn’t competed since UFC 269, when he suffered a third-round submission loss to Charles Oliveira in a 155-pound title bout this past December. That snapped a three-bout winning streak for the American Top Team representative, who was coming off triumphs over Conor McGregor (twice) and Dan Hooker.
Chandler, meanwhile, authored a leading “Knockout of the Year” candidate with a spectacular front kick finish of Tony Ferguson in his most recent outing at UFC 274. The former Bellator lightweight king had previously fallen to Justin Gaethje at UFC 268 in Sherdog’s “Fight of the Year” winner for 2021 and to Charles Oliveira in a bid for the vacant 155-pound belt at UFC 262.
UFC 281 is headlined by a middleweight championship showdown between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira, while Carla Esparza will defend her strawweight crown against Weili Zhang.
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