Dustin Poirier has revealed what he sets out to prove by beating Michael Chandler at UFC 281 this weekend.

On Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler will collide. It’s a clash that, in many ways, has been building for a few years now.

These two are elite level lightweights and at the world’s most famous arena, they’ll get the chance to prove it.

Chandler is coming off the back of a KO win over Tony Ferguson whereas Poirier was beaten by Charles Oliveira last December.

With his back against the wall, ‘The Diamond’ spoke candidly about what he has to prove in a recent interview.

“This is a huge fight in my career. First of all, I’ve never lost two fights in a row in my whole career since an amateur, I’ve never lost two fights in a row,” Poirier said.

“I want to prove to myself that I learn from mistakes, I get back to the grind, pick myself back up, and not only to myself, I want to prove to my family and for the fans, to my daughter that you can fall down and get back up and succeed. So, this fight for me personally, it’s very important for me to get a victory over another former world champion and add his name to my résumé and legacy.”

Quotes via MMA News

Poirier fights back

It’s not unreasonable to think the winner of this fight gets a title shot. Alex Volkanovski may be next for Islam Makhachev but after that, there are no major clear contenders aside from Beneil Dariush – meaning a big performance from either man here could do wonders for them.

Do you expect to see Dustin Poirier defeat Michael Chandler when they meet at UFC 281? Let us know in the comments, BJPENN Nation!