When they are active, fighters are able to handle and absorb the deadliest of punches and kicks. But once they retire and leave that life, an itch can become unbearable. That itch is the longing for a fight, the hours spent training in the gym, and all the hype surrounding it. They start missing all of it once they leave fighting. Looking at his situation, which recently saw him entangled in a legal case, Dustin Poirier‘s post-retirement journey points in that direction, with him expressing multiple times how he misses fighting.

Yet, for all the adjustments he has had to make since his final fight twelve months ago, Dustin Poirier would rather see one fighter retire than continue to fight. In a recent episode of “Deep Waters,” where he joined Chris Weidman, Jorge Masvidal, and Din Thomas in a discussion on fighter retirement, the former interim UFC lightweight champion expressed concerns over veteran Michael Chandler‘s condition and suggested that he should also consider doing the same.

“With all due respect, we buried the hatchet and shook hands, but Michael Chandler, what are you doing?” Poirier said. “I was just jumping back in about retirement. That just came to my mind. I saw a thing; I don’t know if this is official news, but he said he might move up to welterweight. If 155ers are stopping you and you’re taking all this damage, what are 170s going to do? I want to know what he’s fighting for.”

His concerns for his former rival, whom he defeated four years ago at UFC 281 and with whom he shared a bitter feud that drew major attention, center around the latest developments in Chandler’s life.

Since earning the Performance of the Night honor when he knocked out Tony Ferguson at UFC 274 in May 2022, Chandler has been on a four-fight losing streak in the UFC. The run includes the loss to Poirier, Charles Oliveira, and Paddy Pimblett. His most recent defeat came when lightweight contender Mauricio Ruffy knocked him out in the opening round of their main card bout at the UFC Freedom 250 last month.

His knockout loss sparked immediate backlash, with some even calling on the UFC to cut Chandler from its roster.

Chandler, however, remained defiant. Refusing to retire, the former Bellator lightweight champion stated that he would make a major career move by moving to welterweight. While acknowledging that the fight did not go the way he wanted, Chandler insisted via social media message that he is “hard to kill,” “impossible to kill,” and “impossible to defeat” because he is blessed. However, at 40, mindset itself can only take you so far.

Poirier, meanwhile, is not the only one who has called for Chandler’s exit.

“How did they let Michael Chandler fight? Please cut him,” Arman Tsarukyan said on Ariel Helwani’s show last month. “Just fire him. Tell the UFC they have to fire him. He’s losing all of his fights. He’s old, 40 years old… He has no chin anymore, unfortunately. That’s why you have to leave (the sport) in the right moment.”

But given Poirier’s own struggles with retirement, one is left wondering why he would want Chandler to walk away, particularly after the two have buried their differences.

As Michael Chandler fights to stay Dustin Poirier battles life after fighting

For 37-year-old Dustin Poirier, things unraveled recently after he was arrested at the Atlanta airport during the Father’s Day weekend for public intoxication. The Louisiana native was recorded insulting the airport staff and provoking a responding officer. In a subsequent interview, Poirier spoke in detail about how he has been dealing with alcoholism and depression.

“But being away from fighting, man, it’s just a new world I never…I prepared for with investments,” he said at Deep Waters. “I prepared for it with businesses. I didn’t prepare for it mentally.

“I never thought about what’s going to keep me mentally stable, what’s going to keep me feeling okay when I lay the gloves down, you know? And here I am, a year into retirement, and I’m still trying to find it… Now I don’t know what’s going to take all of me in life, in business, in fatherhood, or in anything. What’s going to take all of my being like fighting did? I don’t know what can occupy that space.”

In a previous interview with Ariel Helwani, Poirier revealed how his post-retirement life, while good, had become a constant “tug-of-war” in his head, with many times when he woke up wishing he had a fight to look forward to.

Adding to the intrigue, Poirier had previously spoken about his willingness to make a comeback. His only condition was that he would be willing to lace up again provided it was a marquee fight and not a low-stakes exchange.

But perhaps Poirier wants to save Chandler from an inglorious exit. The latter is not even ranked among the top fifteen contenders. With consecutive losses, his prospects at this stage of his career appear bleak.

Given those circumstances, Michael Chandler could step away at the right time and learn from Poirier’s retirement, making the transition easier, as many former fighters, including Daniel Cormier, Dominick Cruz, and Demetrius Johnson, have done.