Michael Chandler hunting for a finish against Dustin Poirier at UFC 281: “He’s not a crazy hard puzzle to solve”

UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler is hunting for a finish this weekend.

‘Iron’ has been out of action since his knockout victory over Tony Ferguson in May. The win was an important one for the former Bellator champion, as it snapped a two-fight losing streak. Chandler was previously defeated by Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje.

He’s now set to make his return this weekend in New York at UFC 281. Standing opposite Chandler will be the former interim lightweight champion, Dustin Poirier. ‘The Diamond’ is ending a long layoff, as he’s been out of the octagon since his loss to Charles Oliveira last year.

Both men have hopes that a victory on pay-per-view could land them a title shot next. Michael Chandler believes he will be the one to win the grudge match, and he believes he’ll do it in style.

In an interview with Yahoo Sports, the lightweight contender stated that he’s hunting for a finish this Saturday. Chandler also opined that Poirier’s style is not a hard puzzle to solve, as it’s mostly based on fundamentals.

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“Dustin Poirier is not a crazy hard puzzle to solve. I don’t say that it’s not a hard fight, but he’s very brilliant with the basics,” Chandler said. “He’s very good at striking. He’s very good in the grappling and grappling defense department.” (h/t MMAJunkie)

He continued, “There’s not a lot of places where you can exploit Dustin Poirier because he’s got a wealth of knowledge and a wealth of experience, but I’m going to go out there, start fast, get in his face fast, hopefully make him second guess himself pretty fast, mix it up – do exactly what I need to do in all areas of mixed martial arts, and go out there and get my hand raised. But I do think I get the finish.”

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