When it comes to the gluttony of attractive names atop the marquee of Saturday's UFC 281 card in New York, it's hard not to circle the lightweight clash pairing Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler as the fight with the biggest opportunity to steal the headlines.
The pair of aging action heroes are no strangers to violence and drama during a 155-pound era known for producing just that on a regular basis. But Poirier (28-7, 1 NC), a former interim champion and two-time title challenger, will be facing Chandler (23-7), a three-time Bellator MMA lightweight champion, for the first time when they touch gloves inside of Madison Square Garden.
Considering the 36-year-old Chandler co-authored 2021's Fight of the Year opposite Justin Gaethje in the same building last November, it would be a no-brainer to suggest he and Poirier, 33, would do the same. This is the same Chandler who boldly exclaimed he's "here for a good time, not a long time" upon signing with UFC as a coveted free agent in 2020.
Chandler, however, tossed a bit of a curveball into the fans' expectations during Wednesday's final press conference.
"I think the highest expectations are the expectations that I put upon myself," Chandler said. "I have been doing this for 22 years, hand-to-hand combat. Madison Square Garden last year, the fight of year, for sure. I don't think I have anything left to prove.
"I'm not going out there trying to put on [the] fight of the night, I'm going out there to try and get my hand raised to win a title in 2023."
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It was hard to decipher whether Chandler's comments were a cryptic tease toward his intentions to wrestle Poirier, instead of the blitzkrieg approach he typically employs. Or whether the pre-fight chatter was just that -- talk -- when the combustibility between the two fighters and their tendencies toward combat should trump anything else.
"He better," Poirier said, when asked about Chandler's take. "He better wrestle early. We are going to find out Saturday night. [A war] is what I'm going in there for. You guys want to see a head-on collision? I'll give you one. I'm coming in there to finish this guy, by any means."
Either way, there's an argument to be made that a somewhat safer approach from either fighter could be a smarter strategy, even in the face of the public's demand for blood, given the potential stakes in the fight.
Newly crowned champion Islam Makhachev's demolition of Charles Oliveira last month at UFC 279 seemed to usher in a new era for the division, which has reloaded abundantly in recent years with a stable of hungry, young contenders like Rafael Fiziev, Mateusz Gamrot, Arman Tsarukyan and Damir Ismagulov.
The "old guard" at lightweight had reigned supreme for years, even with former champion Khabib Nurmagomedov's domination before his abrupt retirement, making countless action classics between the likes of Tony Ferguson, Justin Gaethje, Rafael dos Anjos, Conor McGregor and Edson Barboza, among others.
In some ways, the pairing of Poirier-Chandler represents the final chance for the previous generation at 155 pounds to produce the next challenger, even with the title picture being crowded at the moment amid Beneil Dariush's recent run and featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski's hope of getting the first crack at Makhachev's title.
Could playing it safe, for once, be Chandler's best hope of fulfilling his UFC title dreams, even if it would represent a departure from his gunslinging reputation? Given Chandler's comments on Wednesday, it's an interesting debate.
Chandler is 2-2 since signing with UFC but has largely seen his losses forgiven because of how willing he has been not just to go for broke inside the cage but to be available at any time for the promotion's matchmakers. He also came frighteningly close to becoming UFC champion during his lone title shot in May 2021 when he dropped and hurt Oliveira early before being finished in the next round.
Yet while one could certainly talk themselves into the idea of Chandler or Poirier cutting the line and leapfrogging Dariush or Volkanovski to secure one last title shot, it would seem to be an accomplishment most likely secured by making a grand statement of the all-action and devastating variety. It's the kind of performance that could be difficult to produce by playing it safe.
Either way, Chandler's wrestling coach at Kill Cliff MMA in south Florida, Greg Jones, told CBS Sports last week that his team expects the Chandler of old, with some minor alterations.
"That's who Michael Chandler is and that's who Michael Chandler has always been," Jones said. "I don't think we're at the point in his career where we're going to change that but we can definitely make some adjustments to possibly figure out when to intelligently attack, when to be technical, when to brawl and when not to brawl. I think he's trying to figure that out. Whatever he does, he's going to be a good draw and he's going to be exciting."
Poirier, a 2-to-1 betting favorite, is both three years younger than Chandler and considered to be more skilled overall. But Poirier did show a glaring lack of ground skills in both of his lightweight title defeats (to Nurmagomedov in 2019 and Oliveira last December), which could support Chandler's want to wrestle.
There is also the debate about which fighter has taken on more damage overall, which is something Chandler believes is an advantage in his favor.
Not only has Poirier been historically vulnerable early against quick-handed punchers like McGregor and Michael Johnson, he has taken part in more action fights than Chandler that have gone deep into the championship rounds, including hard-fought wins against the likes of Max Holloway, Dan Hooker and Gaethje.
"I would challenge the amount of miles I have on me," Chandler said. "Someone younger than me who has been in the UFC might have more because I finished a lot of my fights in the first round in my last 31 fights."
At the end of the day, Poirier and Chandler are who they are and if both have one glaring weakness, it might just be their love affair with tossing any pre-fight game plans out the window the second a fight begins to heat up.
"I think I can speak for Poirier when I say we both are always looking for the finish," Chandler said. "We know exactly who each other are and we know exactly who we are. Let's do this on Saturday night. We are going to steal the show. This is the people's main event.
"I've got one speed. I am who I am, and I'm not going to change. I enjoy this career. People don't understand what it's like to be inside the Octagon and in the crazy movement and unpredictability. Sometimes it takes a hold of you and it just so happens that Madison Square Garden brings something special out of me."
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