Poirier explains why ‘we don’t need to talk about’ Chandler altercation at UFC 276
Dustin Poirier speaks to Daniel Cormier about his UFC 276 altercation with Michael Chandler.
In a rather rare turn of events, former UFC interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier got into a near scuffle in public. It happened cageside during UFC 276’s main card with fellow top contender Michael Chandler, an incident that was caught on video by welterweight Gilbert Burns.
Wow @DustinPoirier vs @MikeChandlerMMA pic.twitter.com/Dw7aYb9ueV
— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) July 3, 2022
According to light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka, who was also seen on the video, it was Poirier who started the altercation. During a recent appearance on ESPN’s DC & RC Show, “The Diamond” spoke about it for the first time.
“I knew somewhere this was gonna come up,” Poirier told Daniel Cormier. “The thing with me now, and my wife — we’ve spoken about it. I’m not tweeting… Look, nothing negative towards nobody, in interviews, online, nothing.
“If I have something to say, I’m gonna say it when the person’s present. And that’s what you saw right there. I had something to say to him. I got it off my chest, told him what I felt about him, and that’s it.
“If he ain’t here to defend himself, or for me to speak in front of him, we don’t need to talk about it.”
The 33-year-old Poirier (28-7, 1 NC) last saw action at UFC 269 in December 2021 against Charles Oliveira, where he lost via third-round submission.