Dustin Poirier Says Conor McGregor Will KO Michael Chandler At UFC 303

Next month, we'll finally see the fight between Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler. But Dustin Poirier says he already has a pretty good idea how it's going to turn out.

Dana White announced in April that the much-awaited bout will be in the main event of UFC 303. The fight was supposed to happen last year. It didn't. And fans were left wondering if it was ever going to happen at all. 

"It’s not that we’ve been working on it for ages, it’s that there are a lot of things that go on behind the scenes. It’s all about timing. Chandler has been ready, but Conor wasn’t ready," White said at a press conference after UFC 300.

"Conor had a lot of obligations that he had to deal with, and what you don’t want him doing is accepting a fight when he’s got a ton of obligations and he can’t train 100% for a fight."

Other obligations, indeed. Not only is McGregor UFC's biggest star, but he's also a businessman outside the octagon. In 2018, he launched his Proper 12 whiskey, and three years later, he sold his majority stake for $600 million.

The 35-year-old's other ventures include a line of sports recovery products called Tidl and sponsorships with Beetroot Lab, DraftKings and Rolls-Royce. Oh, and walking around naked in that Road House movie.

Dustin Poirier Offers His Predictions for McGregor vs. Chandler

McGregor hasn't fought since July 2021, when he broke his left leg in a fight with Dustin Poirier. Ironically, it's Poirier who now has full faith in the Irishman to be victorious at UFC 303.

"I was just like every other fan waiting to see if this thing was going to materialize and they were going to announce the actual fight and the date," Poirier told Fox News Digital. 

"I think if Conor comes back anywhere similar to where he was before the injury, timing wise and movement wise, I think he’s gonna knock Michael Chandler out. It’s just a bad match-up for Chandler."

Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler face off during the filming of The Ultimate Fighter.

(Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Strangely enough, Poirier was also Chandler's last opponent. The 37-year-old hasn't been back in the octagon since a submission loss to Poirier at UFC 281 in November 2022. Since then, he's been holding out for McGregor — or just "trying to get that paycheck," according to Poirier.

As for Poirier, he's set to compete in the lightweight championship bout against Islam Makhachev at UFC 302 in New Jersey next week. The 35-year-old is hoping for a win in what he labeled his last shot at a title — and possibly his last fight.