Dustin Poirier may not be the biggest Michael Chandler fan but he knows that it’s a battle to the very end when going up against him in the octagon.
That wasn’t necessarily the case at UFC 314 after Chandler was largely dominated and ultimately finished with ground and pound in the third round after Paddy Pimblett put on a stunning performance to beat the one-time title challenger. Well known for his action-packed style, Chandler scored an early takedown but he just never seemed to settle into any kind of rhythem before Pimblett started turning the tables on him.
After Pimblett scored with a jumping knee strike, he ended up on top of Chandler where he rained down a series of vicious blows that gave the referee no choice but to stop the fight. The loss dropped Chandler to 2-5 in the UFC with the Pimblett fight serving as his third straight defeat in a row overall.
“I think this whole week what we’ve been talking about his back was against the wall,” Poirier said about Chandler during the UFC 314 post-fight show. “The thing Anthony [Smith] didn’t like, the crossroads reference, I think that’s what that was. We saw him lose again tonight and not just lose but get rolled by a young guy. That was a beating.”
Even in his losses in the UFC, Chandler always seemed to give just as good as he was getting and he never ran out of steam even during five rounds fights.
But that wasn’t the case on Saturday with Poirier noting that Chandler looked exhausted after the end of the first round and that’s when Pimblett really started putting it on him.
At 38 years old with a career built on Fight of the Night performances, Poirier can’t help but wonder if Chandler’s best days are just behind him now.
“After the first round, he had some success with the takedown, with the wrist ride, just riding him out in that first round,” Poirier said. “He won that first round and just didn’t look like himself in the second.
“Didn’t look sturdy on his feet. Looked like he was slowing down, which we don’t see him ever slow down in the second round. He’s in phenomenal shape, looks great but these years catch up to you.”
Dustin Poirier not sure where Michael Chandler goes next after losing at UFC 314: ‘That was a beating’
Dustin Poirier comments on former rival Michael Chandler suffering a third straight loss in the UFC, this time in lopsided fashion to Paddy Pimblett at UFC 314