Even in retirement, former UFC star Dustin Poirier does not plan on letting Michael Chandler off the hook.
Poirier concluded his 18-year career in mixed martial arts in July, when he challenged Max Holloway for the symbolic BMF title in the main event of UFC 318. In a memorable five-round battle, Poirier was defeated by Holloway before laying down the gloves in front of his home fans in New Orleans.
‘The Diamond’ went 2-3 across his final five fights in UFC, but both victories on that run were impressive. His final win came via knockout against Benoit Saint-Denis, while his penultimate triumph inside the Octagon saw him become the first to submit Chandler in MMA.
Given the heat between the two Americans, that result at Madison Square Garden no doubt tasted sweet for the former interim UFC lightweight champion.
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Dustin Poirier trolls Michael Chandler with ‘Muscle Milk Mike’ moniker
Poirier fought Chandler at UFC 281, an event in November 2022 that was headlined by a pair of title fights. Before Alex Pereira stopped Israel Adesanya to become middleweight champion, Zhang Weili submitted Carla Esparza to begin her second reign as strawweight queen.
The stage for those championship bouts was set by ‘The Diamond’ and ‘Iron’, who put on the Fight of the Night in New York City. Poirier made Chandler tap to a rear-naked choke in round three to emerge on the victorious end of the MSG war.
Suffice to say, things were not exactly friendly in the aftermath. Poirier accused Chandler of cheating by attempting to fish-hook him into a choke. And even years on, the Louisianan seemingly still holds a grudge.
A few weeks removed from his retirement in the cage, Poirier recently took aim at Chandler again after being tagged in a post from a fan featuring a video of his victory over the former three-time Bellator champion.
‘The Diamond’ had a familiar response, bringing his nickname for Chandler back into the spotlight.
“Muscle milk Mike,” Poirier wrote on X.
Michael Chandler is still pursuing a feat achieved by Dustin Poirier
Among the biggest wins of Poirier’s UFC career came over bitter rival Conor McGregor in 2021.
After Poirier became the first to knock out McGregor in their rematch, avenging his quick TKO defeat to the Irishman seven years prior, ‘The Diamond’ emerged from their trilogy fight at UFC 264 with a 2-1 lead over ‘The Notorious’.
McGregor has not fought since breaking his leg in that high-profile pay-per-view main event, and that is despite originally being booked to fight Chandler at UFC 303 last summer.
‘Iron’ was left sidelined for two years while he awaited the Irishman’s comeback. That unfruitful decision cost him a significant period in his career, but Chandler continues to call out McGregor.
Though many have written off any chance of the former champ-champ returning, the planned UFC event at the White House next year has sparked fresh comeback talk and even resulted in McGregor returning to the drug-testing pool.