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'What a fight!' Internet hails Michael Chandler as 'true warrior' despite being defeated by Dustin Poirier

In response to the nail-biting fight, a fan said, 'Michael Chandler's fighting style is like there's no tomorrow'

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Dustin Poirier defeated former Bellator champion Michael Chandler. However, Chandler won the hearts of the fans by putting up a great fight at UFC. Though he came out with a kick-heavy attack in the initial round, he was cleverly tackled by Poirier. Meanwhile, in the second round, Chandler dominated the round by putting Poirier through some short punches.

According to CBS Sports, Chandler couldn't perform well in the third round and was slower to engage with his opponent. This is Poirier's first match since losing against Charles Oliveira in December 2021. After the match, Poirier said, "Of course [I was hurt], over here against the wall I couldn't see," Poirier said. "Good thing he throws looping. If he threw straight he probably would have gotten me out of here."

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Who is Michael Chandler?

Chandler was born and raised in Missouri. He was enrolled at the University of Missouri without an athletic scholarship. Chandler is a three-time Bellator Lightweight Champion and was the Season Four Lightweight Tournament winner. He is ranked in 5th in the UFC lightweight rankings. He made his strikeforce debut in 2009 in a match between Strikeforce Challengers: Woodley vs Bears. Later, in 2010, he debuted in Bellator MMA.

After the match, his opponent, Poirier said, "Over here, against the wall [cage], I couldn't see what he was throwing. The thing is it was looping, if he would've thrown straight, he probably would have got me out of here man. I was surprised I got the hook across his body as fast as I did. But I've seen in the past he's very explosive. I didn't want him to get dumped on my head or something like he did with [Charles ] Oliveira. So I tried to keep my weight back with his knees bent so he couldn't straighten them back out," reported Sportskeeda.

'True warrior'

Internet hailed Chandler for performing well in the match. "Chandler is literally within inches of winning every one of his big fights. Leaves his heart out there every time. True warrior," said Wrestler Jordan Burroughs. Journalist Damien Bartonek tweeted, "Michael Chandler might be the strongest fighter pound-for-pound that I’ve ever seen. He picked up a 180 pound man, pure dead weight, multiple times. Good God." Another user said, "Michael ALL IN Chandler! Fight of the year or something close!" Another user stated, "Chandler's fighting style is like there is no tomorrow." "He should get ppv points. Win or lose his fights are unreal," explained another. A user added, "Most exciting combat fighter in the world. Easily! Never ever in a boring fight." Sports journalist Chamatkar Sandhu said, "Holy S**t. Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler are doing exactly what they promised! Wow. #UFC281," while another stated, "Channdler fights are always a banger #UFC281live #UFC281 #michaelchandler."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.