Two top ten fighters in the UFC Lightweight roster finally meet in the Octagon after verbally attacking each other. Number two ranked Lightweight fighter and former Lightweight interim champion, American Dustin Poirier, takes on former three-time Bellator Lightweight world champion Michael Chandler at Madison Square Garden. The opponents have developed a dislike for each other, and the lead-up to the matchup has included the customary shove and push. While Michael Chandler, relatively new in the promotion, KO’ed Tony Ferguson in May. Dustin Poirier’s last fight was a loss to Charles Oliveira in a failed bid for the UFC Lightweight championship. Both veterans of MMA are exciting fighters who love to put on a show.
MMA: UFC Lightweight
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York
Date: 13-11-2022: 06:00
Where to watch: ESPN+
Dustin Poirier
“The Diamond” is a 33-year-old veteran of UFC. He joined the promotion in 2010 and is currently number eleven in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings. He has fourteen knockouts from twenty-eight wins and has the most knockout victories in UFC Lightweight division history with eight KOs. He fought a trilogy with Conor McGregor, losing one and winning the two most recent contests, including a Performance of the Night when he TKO’ed McGregor in January 2021. He has lost two tilts for the UFC Lightweight championships against Khabib Nurmegomedov and Charles Oliveira in 2019 and 2021, respectively and both times by rear naked choke submission.
Dustin Poirier, Tale of the Tape
- Age: 33
- Height: 5’ 9”
- Reach: 72”
- Total fights: 36
- Record: 28-7-1
Michael Chandler
The former three-time Bellator Lightweight champion has made a blockbuster entry into the UFC. In four fights in the promotion, he has won two Performance of the Night bonus awards, one fight of the year for 2021, and fought for the UFC Lightweight championship. He debuted in the UFC with a TKO of Dan Hooker in January 2021. He followed that win with a tussle for the vacant Lightweight championship, losing in the second round to Charles Oliveira. “Iron” is an explosive and flamboyant fighter. He usually attacks from the first horn and hardly relents until he achieves a goal. His loss against Oliveira for the championship was an all-action bout that won the fight of the year in 2021. At 36, the American is highly experienced, albeit chaotic. His fast starts have won him 13 first-round finishes in his career, although pundits have criticized his penchant for entertaining the fans.
There’s times that I want to take my foot off the gas, be a little bit more of a veteran, and I think you might see that in this fight. Don’t hold me to it, but we’ll see what happens. I do like to start fast, and then maybe we’ll settle in a little bit. But we’ll definitely start fast as always.
Michael Chandler, Tale of the Tape
- Age: 36
- Height: 5’ 8”
- Reach: 71”
- Total fights: 30
- Record: 23-7-0
Betting Odds
Dustin Poirier has never lost two fights in a row before, so understandably, “The Diamond” is the clear favorite with the oddsmakers at 1.55 odds to win on BetWay. Michael Chandler is listed at 2.55 odds to win on BetWay. Dustin Poirier to win by KO, TKO, DQ, or Submission is priced at 2.10 odds on Bet 365. For the high-risk bet, the same outcome is listed at 4.00 odds for Michael Chandler. 1.784 odds for over 1.5 rounds on 1Xbet is a nice value. Over 2.5 rounds is priced at 2.235 odds on 1xbet.
