UFC lightweight Michael Chandler has been encouraged to retire by former rival Dustin Poirier after a series of stoppage losses.
Chandler, 40, has lost four straight fights, including three of those losses coming by stoppage. He was last seen inside the Octagon at UFC Freedom 250 in June, when Mauricio Ruffy stopped him with strikes in the very first round.
Now 2-6 overall in the UFC with six stoppage losses, Chandler is being encouraged to hang up his gloves by Poirier, who retired from MMA last year at the age of 36.
Dustin Poirier Encourages Michael Chandler to Retire
Speaking on the “Deep Waters” podcast on UFC on Paramount+, Poirier said that Chandler should start to really think about retirement.
“With all due respect, we’ve buried the hatchet and shook hands, but Michael Chandler — what are you doing?” Poirier said.
“I saw something — I don’t know if this is official news —Â but I saw that he’s thinking of moving to welterweight. If 155ers are stopping you and you’re taking all this damage, what are 170s going to do?”
Michael Chandler is Still an Action Fighter
Although Poirier is certainly correct in saying that Chandler has been absorbing a ton of damage in his recent fights, there’s no doubt Chandler is still a fun, action fighter who is always involved in exciting fights.
In fact, in seven of Chandler’s eight UFC bouts, either he or his opponent won Fight of the Night or Performance of the Night, with the lone exception being Ruffy, who was on the stacked UFC Freedom 250 card, but who still took home a $25,000 finish bonus for stopping him.
Chandler is also a UFC favorite, as the promotion always puts him in big spots against elite fighters. All of his opponents in the UFC so far have been ranked fighters, and most of them have been current or former UFC champions, so you have to consider the level of competition that he’s fought.
Still, it’s been tough to see him absorb as much damage as he has at age 40, and Poirier just seems to be looking out for him with his suggestion.
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