Michael Chandler’s good time quickly turned into a long time.

The former three-time Bellator lightweight champion entered the UFC at a speedy pace, knocking out Dan Hooker halfway through the opening round of their January 2021 encounter. After that, Chandler fought four more times to go 1-3, concluding with his most recent appearance against Dustin Poirier in November 2022.

Unfortunately for Chandler, his return to action has been stalled by the hope of colliding with former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor. The 31-fight veteran (23-8) has reignited his minor rivalry with Poirier in spurts throughout his current hiatus. Reacting on last week’s installment of The MMA Hour, Poirier went off on Chandler and his seeming self-leadership-taking role as a lightweight name. Although Poirier’s position was understandable from his friend and fellow Louisiana native Daniel Cormier’s view, the UFC commentator stood up for Chandler and what he’s accomplished overall in the sport.

“You can tell that Dustin Poirier takes offense to Michael Chandler almost putting himself on the same level as him and all the guys that have been around the UFC for as long as he has,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “He doesn’t like that. It’s almost territorial in a sense that he’s going, ‘We’ve done this for a long time. You can’t come in here with four fights and say we.’

“It almost seems perfect when it comes to Chandler, but at the end of the day, Michael Chandler and the work he put on paper in a short period of time has to be respected. For a guy like Dustin Poirier who goes, ‘From 2011, ‘16, ‘17, ‘18, I was scratching and clawing, really trying to make my way.’

“I can get how he would have frustration for a guy who did it so fast but at the end of the day should still be respected,” he concluded.

Chandler’s enticement of some fire from Poirier is indicative of a stay in MMA, believes Cormier. “The Diamond” has been very open about how his last fight may have been his last. Poirier, 35, came up short in an undisputed UFC title tilt for the third time in his career when he lost a fifth-round d’arce choke submission to Islam Makhachev last month.

For Poirier’s possible final dance, Cormier sees those two men mentioned as options thanks to the history all shared, whether with Chandler or McGregor. However, Nate Diaz is also still an option, which Poirier has shown more interest in than the others.

“I think he should fight and I think he should fight only the big fights,” Cormier said. “I think if the Nate Diaz fight is possible, make it happen.

“There are three guys now that Dustin Poirier spoke about in a week and Dustin Poirier and those three guys are all massive fights. The types of fights that Poirier said he would come back for. Dustin Poirier’s fighting again. It’s just a matter of when and who.”

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TOP STORIES

Thug. ‘She literally punched her eyelashes off’: Pros react to Rose Namajunas’ impressive UFC Denver win over Tracy Cortez

Gold. Rose Namajunas wants ‘dream’ championship fight in Lithuania, flirts with ‘BMF’ title possibility

Return. Brendan Loughnane promises Conor McGregor wants to fight again: ‘This guy is hungry for it’

Experience. Tracy Cortez reacts to loss to Rose Namajunas at UFC Denver: ‘I gave it all I had’

$$$. UFC Denver bonuses: Jean Silva, Drew Dober win Fight of the Night for thrilling slugfest

Rivals. Dustin Poirier scoffs at Conor McGregor’s UFC 303 withdrawal: ‘Dude, a pinky toe?’

Controversy. Abdul Razak Alhassan rips Cody Brundage after UFC Denver no-contest: ‘I know definitely he could have continued’

Sides. Alex Pereira cheering for Israel Adesanya to beat Dricus du Plessis: ‘I can see he’s a good person’

Gnarly. Drew Dober shows off aftermath from horrific cut that stopped UFC Denver fight

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LET’S WATCH

UFC Denver Post Show.

UFC 304 Trailer.

The Story So Far: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya.

Instant classic.

RIZIN Confessions 154.

Free fight.

Umar’s Training Camp.

Fancy Exorcism.

Holloway at sea.

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MORNING MUSIC

Go to Twitter, use the #MorningReport hashtag, or find one of my tweets with it, and drop me a jam you’re currently really into. I’ll pick the best one alongside my daily choice and give you a shoutout! You can also share in the comments below — those are just harder to sift through sometimes!

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SOCIAL SCROLL DOWN

Soon?

Champ.

What.

Multi-tasking.

Apologies.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Shauna Bannon (5-1) vs. Alice Ardelean (9-5); UFC 304, July 27

Karol Rosa (17-6) vs. Pannie Kianzad (16-8); UFC Vegas 95, Aug. 10.

Isaac Dulgarian (6-1) vs. Brendon Marotte (8-2); UFC Vegas 97, Sept. 7

Brendan Allen (24-5) vs. Nassourdine Imavov (14-4); UFC Paris, Sept. 28

Dariya Zhelezniakova (9-1) vs. Ailín Perez (10-2); UFC Paris, Sept. 28

Christian Lee (17-4) vs. Alibeg Rasulov (14-0); ONE 169, Nov. 8

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POLL POSITION

Last Week’s Results:

Friday: 87% of 405 total votes answered “Yes” when asked, “Will Paddy Pimblett re-sign with the UFC?”

Thursday: 67% of 371 total votes answered “Rose Namajunas” when asked, “Who wins this weekend?” Namajunas defeated Tracy Cortez via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) in UFC Denver’s main event.

Wednesday: 51% of 422 total votes answered “Yes” when asked, “Will Francis Ngannou ever have another MMA fight?”

Tuesday: 63% of 509 total votes answered “0” when asked, “How many times will Ilia Topuria successfully defend his title?”

Monday: 52% of 235 total votes answered “Diaz” when asked, “Who did you think won the Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal boxing rematch?” Diaz defeated Masvidal via a majority decision on July 6.

Today’s exit poll:

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