Michael Chandler started his exciting UFC run with a first-round finish of Dan Hooker in the co-main event of UFC 257. Slated for headlining UFC 303 on International Fight Week against “The Notorious” Conor McGregor, the former Bellator champion spoke to MacLife’s Oscar Willis in Las Vegas.
During the interview, Chandler focused mainly on Conor McGregor. However, as the conversation turned to jokes made by Israel Adesanya and Dan Hooker, Chandler began to express his thoughts about Hooker “The guys like Dan Hooker, man, those are the real ones,” said Chandler, showing respect for Hooker as the only top 5 ranked fighter at the time who accepted to fight him.
Chandler’s first assignment in the UFC was to weigh in as a backup for the UFC 254 main event, headlined by Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje. Following this, Dana White and Hunter Campbell, the top brass of the UFC, wanted Chandler to face a top 5 lightweight. However, both Dustin Poirier and Tony Ferguson, who were in the top 5 at the time, refused to fight Chandler, arguing that a newcomer did not deserve a top 5 fight.
Nonetheless, Dan Hooker accepted but had to suffer a first-round knockout loss. Hooker has had a tough time after the loss to Chandler but is presently on a two-fight winning streak. As of now, Chandler and Hooker are ranked 7th and 11th in the UFC’s official lightweight rankings respectively.
Michael Chandler compares Dan Hooker with Holly Holm
Holly Holm, the fifth-ranked lightweight, welcomed Kayla Harrison into the promotion at UFC 300 but suffered a second-round submission loss to the ex-PFL champion per. The American Judoka is now primed for a title shot and a potential fight against Amanda Nunes. Michael Chandler found similarities between his fight against Hooker and Holm’s against Harrison.
“Holly Holm didn’t need to brave the unknown and take the chance of fighting Kayla Harrison, who was coming in a relative unknown,” said Michael Chandler who went on to thank Dan Hooker who gave him the opportunity at a big stage. Even though Holm and Hooker did not have success, Chandler only had nice things to say about the two.
Chandler was present at UFC 300 in the audience and witnessed the prowess of Harrison against Holm. Moreover, he was among those UFC fighters, caught on camera, when Max Holloway defeated Justin Gaethje with a buzzer-beating knockout.
Will Michael Chandler become a UFC champion, undisputed or BMF? Leave your thoughts about it below!
