Michael Chandler’s UFC debut has finally been booked, with the former Bellator champion set to fight Dan Hooker at UFC 257 on January 23rd on Fight Island.
Chandler had previously served as a back-up for the UFC 251 main event lightweight title fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje a few months ago on Fight Island in case either fighter had to withdraw on short notice, but his services weren’t required.
As such that has delayed Chandler’s chance to get his first taste of UFC action and now leaves him having to work his way up the rankings to get a title opportunity instead.
Chandler comes into the UFC on a high, having registered back-to-back first round KO Victories over Sidney Outlaw and Benson Henderson in the Bellator promotion.
During his long run in the Bellator promotion, Chandler became their lightweight champion on no less than three occasions and was one of the best known fighters on their roster.
Now he squares up to Hooker, whose own title ambitions in the UFC suffered a setback last time out when he lost out to Dustin Poirier by unanimous decision in an instant classic encounter that will go down as one of 2020’s best fights.
Before that Hooker had been on a three-fight winning streak, defeating James Vick, Al Iaquinta and Paul Felder, so he’ll be hoping that a win over Chandler could properl him back into the lightweight division’s top 5 rankings.
Chandler vs. Hooker joins a UFC 257 card that will be headlined by a rematch between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier.
