There were no lightweights on the main card of UFC 276, but the Las Vegas crowd nearly saw a pair of them go at it.
Former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier, ranked No. 2 in the UFC’s champion-less lightweight rankings, and Michael Chandler, ranked fifth, were seen embroiled in a heated argument, to the point they had to be separated, between the preliminary and main cards at T-Mobile Arena.
The conflict was caught on camera by intrepid reporter and former UFC welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns.
Chaos nearly ensued earlier tonight (Sat., July 2, 2022) at UFC 276 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, when lightweight contenders Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler were held back by security and a current UFC champion in the crowd.
Video footage was captured by UFC welterweight fighter Gilbert Burns who initially captured Poirier trying to get out of the stands. Chandler and Poirier started to jaw at each other as security rushed in. Current UFC light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka was close by and he stepped in to hold “Diamond” back.
The entire video is about a 30 seconds long and nothing escalated beyond some verbal warfare. Check it out in the above video player courtesy of “Durinho:”
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Poirier and Chandler are two of the very best lightweight fighters in the world today. They’ve both fought and lost for the UFC lightweight championship, but remain one win away from another shot at UFC gold.
There were no lightweights on the main card of UFC 276, but the Las Vegas crowd nearly saw a pair of them go at it.
Former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier, ranked No. 2 in the UFC’s champion-less lightweight rankings, and Michael Chandler, ranked fifth, were seen embroiled in a heated argument, to the point they had to be separated, between the preliminary and main cards at T-Mobile Arena.
The conflict was caught on camera by intrepid reporter and former UFC welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns.
Not every loud argument at a UFC event portends a future fight, but a Poirier-Chandler fight makes enough sense for both fighters that it’s hard not to wonder if the UFC decision-makers are already in the process of setting something up.
Poirier hasn’t fought since losing to then-UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira by submission at UFC 269 last December, while Chandler is coming off a win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 274 in May. Chandler also recently got a shot against Oliveira, but lost via second-round TKO.
Both fighters are popular among UFC fans and part of a highly entertaining top of the lightweight division. A fight between the two of them would almost certainly be a striking showcase, hopefully along the lines of Chandler’s fight against Justin Gaethje last November.
The two lightweights exchanged words earlier this year and seemed to be lining up a potential meeting inside of the Octagon. If any talks were falling through this near-brawl at UFC 276 should spice things back up. After all, UFC loves using this type of footage to promote a fight.
Wow 🤩 @DustinPoirier vs @MikeChandlerMMA pic.twitter.com/Dw7aYb9ueV
— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) July 3, 2022