Outside Source
Dustin Poirier knows Conor McGregor quite well. | Getty/UFC
For now, Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler remains little more than a hypothetical in the minds of mixed martial arts fans.
However, the bout recently gained new life following President Donald Trump’s announcement that a UFC event will be held at the White House in June 2026. Since then, McGregor has re-entered the promotion’s drug-testing pool, and both the Irishman and Chandler have expressed interest in revisiting their bout — which was originally supposed to take place after they coached on “The Ultimate Fighter 31.” The fight was booked for UFC 303 in June 2024, but McGregor pulled out of the contest with a broken toe and hasn’t been close to returning to the promotion since.
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However, the former UFC two-division champion has recently stated that his participation on the White House card is a “done deal.” As someone who has faced both McGregor and Chandler, Dustin Poirier believes that the “Notorious” one would be the clear favorite if the bout comes to fruition.
“That’s a layup for Conor,” Poirier told CasinoBeats. “That’s a great matchup stylistically. A fight is a fight, so anything can happen. But I do believe that Conor is going to knock Chandler out if they fight. I think it’s just a very bad matchup for Michael Chandler.”
Poirier went 2-1 against McGregor in UFC competition and was the last person to face the Dublin native, who broke his leg in their trilogy bout in July 2021. The now-retired Poirier also bested Chandler via third-round submission in a wildly-entertaining clash at UFC 281.
Poirier Praises Rival’s Star Power
While Poirier ultimately got the better of McGregor in their trilogy, “The Diamond” remains impressed by his former foe’s drawing power at his peak.
“We’ve never seen a star of that magnitude in the UFC, who would back up what he says he’s going to do,” Poirier said. “Who would call his shots, the mic skills, the fighter he was. It was just a perfect storm. He did it. Two-division world champion. A lot of times, he did what he said he was going to do. He made people want to tune in to watch him fight, whether you were buying the PPV to watch him win, or you were against him and you bought it to watch him lose.
“I don’t know if we’re ever going to see another star that big in the UFC again.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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