There are reports out this evening that are saying the UFC has booked a lightweight contest between Michael Chandler (21-5) and Dan Hooker (20-9). The news was first reported by Stuff, a media outlet in New Zealand. The bout will take place at UFC 257.
Michael Chandler posted on social media a couple of weeks ago that he was entering camp for his UFC debut. However, he didn’t say who he’d be facing. The speculation was that he’d be facing Justin Gaethje in his debut.
Dana White even alluded to that potential matchup in the last couple of weeks. However, Dan Hooker also came out last week and said that he was in training camp for his next UFC fight.
The rumors started running on if Hooker would be facing off against Chandler. Assuming this report holds true, we now know that Dan Hooker will be the lightweight responsible for welcoming Michael Chandler to the UFC.
Hooker is coming off of a loss to Dustin Poirier back in June. That loss snapped a three-fight win streak for Hooker. He will enter the cage on January 23rd currently ranked as the sixth best lightweight in the world.
UFC debut for Michael Chandler
Michael Chandler will be making his anticipated UFC debut in January. As mentioned above, we knew that Chandler would be making his debut likely at UFC 257. However, we had been missing the opponent.
Dan Hooker is a very interesting matchup for Michael Chandler. Chandler will enter the octagon having gone 5-1 in his last six fights with the lone loss coming to Patricio Pitbull in May of last year.
UFC 257 is proving to be a pivotal night for the lightweight division. Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier are headlining the card and Chandler – Hooker is expected to be the co-main event of the evening.
There has been rumblings that the McGregor – Poirier fight could be for a title if Khabib Nurmagomedov sticks to his retirement. However, nothing is official as of yet. Dana White is expected to meet with the lightweight champion in a few weeks.