05 February 2023 , 10:34
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Dustin Poirier has mocked his "children" Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler who will fight in the Irishman's UFC comeback.
McGregor has not fought since breaking his leg in a trilogy clash with Poirier back in July 2021, but he has since completed a period of lengthy rehabilitation. The Irishman piled on weight in his absence from the octagon and is now ready to make a final title charge at 170lb which he is expected to return in.
After he confirmed he was made an offer to fight in The Ultimate Fighter, UFC president Dana White confirmed that Chandler will receive his long-awaited call-up to be the opposition to McGregor. The pair will then face-off at the end of the series once they have attempted to coach their team of fighters to success.
Following the news breaking across social media, Poirier elected to issue a comical response on Twitter, writing: "The Ultimate Fighter - all my children edition." 'The Diamond' shares a bitter rivalry with McGregor whom he has beaten on two consecutive occasions in McGregor's last two UFC appearances.
Poirier also choked out Chandler in a contest late last year, since which he has yet to make a return to the cage, and he could potentially himself eye a shot at 170lb. It is uncertain exactly when McGregor will take on Chandler in the octagon given the pair will first coach a team of fighters each.
Conor McGregor accused of "chickening out" of UFC fight ahead of comeback
It was expected that McGregor would face a wait of around six-months as he is still yet to register in the USADA drug-testing pool, which could see the event land after August this year. It will need to be a much improved display for McGregor who has just one win in the UFC since 2018.
Who wins - Conor McGregor or Michael Chandler? Let us know in the comments section below
Conor McGregor lost to Dustin Poirier in a trilogy in 2021 (Getty Images)McGregor will be encouraged by the fact that his last win came at 170lb against Donald Cerrone in 2020, which is the division that his UFC return fight is expected to take place at. Chandler has since insisted he is extremely excited at receiving the opportunity which he has campaigned long and hard for.
"Conor is the fight that I wanted, he has expressed interest in wanting to fight me and now here we are," Chandler said on his YouTube channel. "The competition starts right now. We're going to be stuck together in the same city for a month, or month and a half, but the competition is 24/7 the entire time. I want to win this thing; I don't want to beat Conor later this year, I want to beat Conor badly on TUF. I don't even want him to win a fight.
"I cannot wait, this is something that I have wanted to do forever. I've wanted to take off the fighter cap and put on the coaching cap, to usher these young men and women into the opportunity of a lifetime. I get the opportunity to coach a handful of them, so now we build the hype and competition."