Former Bellator Champion Michael Chandler is finally set to make his UFC debut. His opponent; City Kickboxing’s Dan ‘The Hangman’ Hooker. The fight is a stroke of expert matchmaking on the UFC’s part. Dan Hooker is one of the staunchest Lightweights in the UFC’s roster, having picked up wins over Paul Felder and Al Iaquinta. However, most recently ‘The Hangman’ came up short against Dustin Poirier in a fight of the year contender. Alternatively, Michael Chandler has been long regarded as one of the best 155ers outside of the UFC. He holds wins over former UFC fighters such as Eddie Alvarez and Akihiro Gono. However Gono only amassed a 1-1 record for the company, and while Eddie Alvarez did become Lightweight Champion, he was comprehensively defeated by both McGregor and Poirier.
As it happens the two men to have last defeated Alvarez in the UFC, are headlining UFC 257. The same PPV card that Hooker and Chandler are co-headlining. Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier believes that the winner of their bout should capitalize on the exposure brought by a Conor McGregor PPV event. Just as Khabib Nurmagomedov propelled his name into the title picture, after clinically dismantling Michael Johnson at UFC 205. On the DC and Helwani show, Cormier recounted the event:
“Khabib’s on the prelims: ‘I want to fight with your chicken.’ All of a sudden they start to mention Khabib and Conor in the same breath.” “Khabib isn’t the champ yet; he’s a young guy on his way up, and then it just builds” (H/T MMA Junkie)
“For Chandler to be in the co-main event, it puts him in a perfect spot. And Dan Hooker, too,” remarked Cormier. “If I’m Dan Hooker and I win, I’m immediately saying something about McGregor. Whoever wins at 155 pounds on that fight card, you say something about McGregor. Because guess what? McGregor doesn’t have the ability to not respond. He will say something back. He’ll say something and elevate you. There’s a level of stardom that comes with fighting on (the same card as) and with this dude that I’ve never seen.”
McGregor’s opponent, Dustin Poirier, has stated that he believes Dan Hooker will have an edge over the former Bellator fighter.
Who do you think will win the opportunity to call out the Notorious one?