Michael Chandler admits he was a bit too harsh on Dustin Poirier for saying he quit against Charles Oliveira at UFC 269.
After Poirier was submitted by Oliveira, Chandler took to social media and took some shots at “The Diamond” and claimed Poirier quit. However, now weeks later, Chandler admits he was too harsh on Poirier as you never know how tight a choke is unless you are the one getting choked.
“I think the hardest part with chokes, there’s so many chokes out there that are a rear-naked choke or any choke that has been put on somebody where you think you’re never going to get out of it,” Chandler said on MMAFighting’s Fighter vs. Writer.
“That’s why we love this sport, too, people say ‘he’s done, he’s done, he’s done!’ and then you can’t believe when they get out of it. You hear it with Joe Rogan cageside, Jon Anik, [Daniel Cormier] cageside, they go bananas when guys get out of it because you never know quite how deep a choke is. I think there’s always a little bit more fight left before a tap could happen. I will admit maybe I was a little bit too harsh. Maybe the word quit was not the right word to use.”
Part of the reason why Michael Chandler criticized Dustin Poirier was due to the fact he too had his back taken from Oliveira but never got choked out. However, “Iron” admits each fight is different so he knows he says he shouldn’t have said Poirier quit.
“I also got my back taken by Charles Oliveira. He almost had that choke locked up and I was able to fight out of it,” Chandler said. “So I’ve been in that position. I was able to get out of it. I will admit, I will concede maybe using the quit was a little bit harsh, especially against one of the good guys. People are probably like how are you going to come at Dustin Poirier, he’s one of the best guys in MMA, right? It was just me.
Michael Chandler Apologizes For Being ‘Too Harsh’ Saying Poirier Quit at UFC 269
“More than anything, I guess it was the admiration, the jubilation of watching Charles Oliveira do what he did when nobody thought he was going to be able to do that except most of his fellow countrymen in Brazil and maybe a couple analysts and a couple of his fellow fighters, coupled with loving the sport even though I lost to Charles Oliveira, loving the sport and being pumped up on the sport. I’ll admit, it was probably a little bit too critical. But that’s kind of where I’m at on it,” Chandler concluded.
Both Michael Chandler and Dustin Poirier do not have their next fight books but no matter who they fight, it will be must-see TV.
