Dan Hooker

UFC: Michael Chandler is in camp, but who is he fighting?

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Michael Chandler

Earlier this year, the UFC made headlines when they signed top lightweight, Michael Chandler (21-5). Chandler had been a Bellator champion on a number of occasions. He was always considered to be one of the best in the world.

However, with him fighting outside the UFC, there have always been questions on just how good he is. Chandler wanted to prove himself and see for himself just how good he is which is why he took a deal with the UFC.

He recently stated the the UFC was not offering him the most money. However, they provided the best competition which is what meant the most to Chandler. Originally, Chandler was supposed to make his debut at UFC 254 against either Tony Ferguson or Dustin Poirier.

The UFC tried to make a fight between Ferguson and Poirier, but after that fell through, they tried booking either against Chandler. A fight never materialized between Chandler and either of those top contenders.

Instead, Chandler still flew out to Fight Island, but as the backup for the UFC 254 main event. Chandler said it was his way of showing the UFC and the world that he is willing to take anything that they throw at him.

Recently, Chandler posted on Instagram that he was starting up his fight camp. He has aspirations to fight on the UFC 257 card which features the rematch between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. So, who is Chandler training for?

Chandler at UFC 257?

Based on Michael Chandler being in camp, the safe assumption is that the plan is for Chandler to fight in January. With that in mind, there are a couple of potential opponents for Chandler to face at UFC 257.

The front-runner in my opinion is Justin Gaethje (22-3). Gaethje is the top ranked lightweight in the UFC and the former interim champion. Gaethje said he needs to get a win before fighting for the title again, and Chandler needs an opponent.

Chandler has openly expressed his desire to fight Justin Gaethje. Another opportunity would be Dan Hooker (20-9). Hooker is currently ranked fifth in the division and he said that he wanted to send Chandler back to the B-Leagues.

The UFC could also turnaround either Tony Ferguson or Charles Oliveira if one of them wins without taking too much damage this weekend. No matter what, Chandler’s first opponent will be a top five lightweight. We should know sooner than later who that opponent is.

UFC: Justin Gaethje says he needs a win before another title shot

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There might not be many in the business more likeable than Justin Gaethje (22-3). The former interim UFC lightweight champion just tells it like it is and he’s never afraid to be brutally honest even at his own expense.

We haven’t seen or heard much from Gaethje since his failed attempt to capture undisputed gold at UFC 254. That night, Gaethje took on Khabib Nurmagomedov. Gaethje was looked at as the most dangerous challenger to Khabib’s reign.

However, Khabib continued to show just how special he is dominating the fight and submitting Gaethje in the second round. Now, the former interim champion is ready to get back on the horse to try to capture UFC gold.

In an interview with The Schmo, Gaethje talked about what he wants to do next. “McGregor and Poirier are fighting soon, I would love to fight the winner of that. I wholeheartedly believe that you should be coming off a win to fight for a belt. So my job now is to get a win,” Gaethje said.

The Schmo followed up asking if Gaethje wants to wait for the winner of that fight. Gaethje replied, “I want to fight for the belt. If it’s the winner of that fight (who will be fighting for a belt), then in turn, I would have to beat somebody first.”

What’s the UFC’s plan for Gaethje?

You have to love the honesty from Justin Gaethje. He’s not sitting there demanding a UFC title shot despite the fact that he’s the top ranked lightweight in the division. He truly believes he has to win again before fighting for the belt.

So what should the UFC do with Gaethje? I think there are two very clear options for the promotion and Gaethje. I think the top option is for Gaethje to face Michael Chandler in January at UFC 257 as the co-main event.

Chandler has said he’s already in training camp and wants to fight on the McGregor – Poirier card. If the UFC pairs Gaethje with Chandler that night, you can see a little lightweight tournament forming for the championship.

The other option for Gaethje would be Dan Hooker. Hooker has expressed interest in fighting Gaethje and Hooker is also a top ranked lightweight. I think this should be the secondary option, but it’s another good one.

What we do know is that Gaethje wants to fight and win again before getting his next UFC title shot. I think we will get some clarity on the Justin Gaethje front sooner than later. I expect him to have a fight in January or February.

UFC Matchmaker: Justin Gaethje – Michael Chandler

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There is so much movement and so many exciting things happening in the UFC‘s lightweight division. Just this past week, we saw the Conor McGregor – Dustin Poirier rematch made official and Tony Ferguson will be fighting Charles Oliveira. 

Both of those are insane matchups for fight fans. That being said, there are even more exciting matchups on the horizon for the UFC‘s lightweight division. The biggest MMA signing in 2020 had to be Michael Chandler signing with the UFC.

The former three time Bellator lightweight champion will finally get the chance to prove himself amongst the elite. However, the promotion has not been able to find Chandler an opponent quite yet.

Chandler was the backup for UFC 254 when Justin Gaethje took on Khabib Nurmagomedov. That night, Nurmagomedov ran through Gaethje to retain his UFC lightweight championship then announced his retirement. Although, his retirement seems to be up in the air.

Justin Gaethje wanted to get right back into the swing of things after the loss. He didn’t take much damage and he was itching to get back into the cage. Gaethje needs an opponent and Michael Chandler still isn’t booked. You see where I’m going with this?

Will the UFC book it?

I think given the current landscape, it makes all the sense in the world to have Justin Gaethje (22-3) fight Michael Chandler (21-5). It’s an excellent stylistic matchup for fans and both guys need a fight.

Chandler was trying to fight Tony Ferguson at UFC 257 when McGregor takes on Poirier. However, Ferguson was adamant about fighting in 2020 which is how he landed on the Charles Oliveira fight.

By all accounts, Chandler wants to make his UFC debut in January. Justin Gaethje is wanting to get back into the cage so it makes sense to pair the two. The other option for either man would be Dan Hooker.

Unfortunately for Hooker, he appears to be the odd man out at the moment. Ariel Helwani said yesterday that it appears that Michael Chandler might have an opponent for UFC 257. Hooker has been calling for a fight with Gaethje while we haven’t heard much from the former interim champion.

My guess is that the promotion is moving to book Gaethje – Chandler. In theory, the winner of that fight would fight the winner of the McGregor – Poirier fight sometime next summer. If Khabib is truly done, the winners would face for the undisputed UFC lightweight championship.

In this scenario the two odd men out would be whoever wins between Ferguson – Oliveira and Dan Hooker. Given the timelines, I wouldn’t be shocked to see the UFC book those two against each other sometime in the spring.

Could the UFC do a lightweight tournament?

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UFC, Dana White

This past weekend at UFC 254, Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Justin Gaethje to retain his lightweight championship. After the fight was over, Khabib laid his gloves in the center of the octagon and said that he had fought his final fight in the UFC.

With that, the UFC‘s lightweight division has just been blown open. Nobody really knows what the promotion is going to do with the lightweight title now that Khabib Nurmagomedov is walking away from the sport.

Michael Chandler was in attendance because he was the backup fighter. Chandler had a suggestion for the UFC and that was to put on a lightweight tournament for the vacant title. The UFC hasn’t put on tournaments since the early days.

Well, I guess there was the flyweight tournament back in 2012. However, that was to crown a new champion in a new division. Chandler’s idea is definitely interesting for the promotion. I could also see the promotion making the Conor McGregor – Dustin Poirier fight for the title.

McGregor is the last undisputed lightweight champion not named Khabib Nurmagomedov. Meanwhile Poirier is the former UFC interim lightweight champion and he knocked out Justin Gaethje who was the interim champion entering UFC 254.

What will the UFC do?

There are a lot of people who want to see Justin Gaethje right back in a title fight. However, I don’t think the UFC is going to do that. The McGregor – Poirier fight just makes too much sense for the vacant lightweight championship.

I think you’ll see the UFC look to book Michael Chandler against Tony Ferguson. I think they really want to make that fight, and it would be a fun matchup for fans. They could then make a fight between Justin Gaethje and Dan Hooker.

The winners of those two fights could then face off for a chance to fight the winner of the McGregor – Poirier fight. The UFC is planning on McGregor – Poirier in January, and I bet the winner likely wouldn’t defend the title until the July PPV.

That would give the promotion time in the middle to have the winners face each other. So in a sense, it would be like a tournament. However, it would be a tournament to face the champion which will be decided in January.

I don’t know what the UFC will do and frankly they probably won’t do that. However, I think this would be a good way to get everyone matched up. The McGregor – Poirier fight is already almost done, why not up the stakes and make it even bigger by throwing the title on the line?

Could McGregor – Poirier be for the vacant UFC lightweight title?

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Conor McGregor, UFC

Yesterday at UFC 254, Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0) completely dominated Justin Gaethje (22-3) and retained his lightweight champion. Nurmagomedov was overcome with emotions after he was able to win by triangle choke.

The UFC lightweight champion lost his father earlier this year due to COVID-19. Khabib’s father, Abdulmanap, had been Khabib’s lead trainer for his entire career. There were questions surrounding his fighting future after his father passed.

However, the UFC lightweight champion wanted to keep going to honor his father. At UFC 254, he might have put on the best performance of his career in stopping Justin Gaethje. After the fight was over Khabib laid his gloves in the middle of the cage and retired from the sport.

With some fighters, there are questions and doubts when they first announce retirement. However, I think the majority of the MMA community believes Nurmagomedov will not be back in the UFC. That leaves a vacancy at the top of the lightweight division.

The division is absolutely littered with killers, and I guarantee, none of them are sad to see Nurmagomedov leave the division. So the question now becomes, who will get the first crack at the vacant UFC lightweight championship?

McGregor – Poirier for the vacant UFC title?

Before I get into McGregor – Poirier, I will say that Justin Gaethje deserves to be in the conversation for the first shot. He was the interim champion yesterday and just knocked off Tony Ferguson earlier this year to win that title.

However, I think there’s a clear front-runner for the vacant UFC title. The promotion is planning on having Conor McGregor (22-4) and Dustin Poirier (26-6, 1 NC) fight in January. Both men have agreed to the fight.

Poirier was the interim champion last year before losing to Nurmagomedov. He bounced back in June to defeat Dan Hooker. McGregor also last lost in a title fight to Nurmagomedov, but he bounced back and knocked out Donald Cerrone back in January.

The UFC wanted McGregor to face Nurmagomedov again if Khabib won yesterday. Now that Khabib has retired, it makes perfect business sense to book McGregor in the next title fight. Also, Poirier has just as much of a case as Gaethje considering he was also the interim champion.

There are several guys in the mix at the top of the division. You have McGregor, Gaethje, Poirier, Michael Chandler, Tony Ferguson, and Dan Hooker. You could pair all those guys up, but I think McGregor – Poirier is likely going to determine the next UFC lightweight champion.

Tony Ferguson is becoming fed up with the UFC

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Tony Ferguson, UFC

One of the best lightweights in the world is not very happy with the UFC. That lightweight would be former interim champion Tony Ferguson. El Cucuy hasn’t fought since May when he lost an interim title fight to Justin Gaethje.

Ferguson was originally supposed to face UFC lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov, that night, but due to travel restrictions, the fight was cancelled. Ferguson took the fight against Gaethje and was stopped in the fifth round.

Since then, we have not seen Ferguson in action. However, the UFC has tried to make fights for Ferguson. The promotion was trying to book Ferguson opposite Dustin Poirier as the co-main event for this weekend’s UFC 254 card.

However, due to financial negotiations, the fight never came to fruition. Following that, the UFC offered Ferguson a fight against Michael Chandler, however, Ferguson was not interested in fighting Chandler because he viewed it as a step back.

Now, Ferguson appears to be the odd man out at lightweight. The UFC seems to be closing in on booking the rematch between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. Ferguson’s logical opponent is Michael Chandler, but again, Ferguson doesn’t want that fight. He’s becoming increasingly frustrated with the promotion.

El Cucuy vs the UFC

“Chandler? Think about this: How many times are you going to put another f–king person in the f–king shuffle of cards? Dana keeps shuffling me down the list. What? Because I’m f–king Mexican? What’d I do to you? Why do you treat me like s–t,” Ferguson told MMA Junkie.

Ferguson went onto talk about how he feels that the UFC should pay him more given his history with the promotion. Ferguson has been with the UFC since 2011 when he won the Ultimate Fighter. He’s been one of the best lightweights in the world since that time.

Despite losing in his last fight at UFC 249, Ferguson wants his money to be raised for his next fight. If he doesn’t see the numbers climb, it appears that he’s willing to sit out. We’ve seen this several times this year with Jon Jones and Jorge Masvidal. 

However, it’s very rare that these kind of situations ever favor the fighter. The UFC is booming right now and if Ferguson doesn’t want to fight, White and the UFC won’t cave. They could find another fight for Michael Chandler like Dan Hooker. 

At the end of the day, I think it’s best for all parties for this situation to be resolved. There has to be a middle ground somewhere that will make both sides happy. I think all fans would be happy to see Ferguson fighting again sooner rather than later.

UFC: Nate Diaz and Dan Hooker challenge each other

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One of the more popular fighters in the UFC over the last several years has been Nate Diaz (20-12). Diaz rose to stardom after he defeated Conor McGregor in a massive upset back at UFC 196. McGregor was the featherweight champion at the time.

Following that contest, the two would rematch in the second highest grossing PPV event in UFC history. Diaz has competed twice since that McGregor rematching winning a fight against Anthony Pettis before having the BMF title match against Jorge Masvidal.

Since the BMF loss, Diaz has been on the sidelines. Recently, it was reported that the UFC was close to finalizing the rematch between Diaz and Masvidal. However, the UFC appears to be heading in a different direction angling to book Masvidal against Colby Covington.

That leaves Diaz without a fight. However, thanks to the wonderful world of twitter, a new fight for Diaz could be materializing before our eyes. In the last few days an exchange between Diaz and Dan Hooker (20-9) has created headlines. Both men have challenged the other to a fight.

Would the UFC make it happen?

Hooker is currently the fourth ranked lightweight without a fight. He’s coming off of a close decision loss to Dustin Poirier back in June. He’s been wanting to get back into the octagon, but he has yet to find an opponent to throw down with. Diaz seems to be interested in taking the fight.

Judging by social media, it appears that Diaz is ready to return to the UFC. Considering the fact that the Masvidal fight was close to being done shows that he’s wanting back in. A fight with Hooker would be a fun change of pace for Diaz.

If Nate Diaz were to fight Dan Hooker, it wouldn’t be a giant money maker. However, it would be a fight that could reestablish Diaz near the top of the lightweight division. Granted, Diaz is currently calling for the fight to take place at 165 pound.

I think the UFC would be smart to capitalize on the social media talk between the two men. Nate Diaz needs to be more active in the octagon, and a fight with Dan Hooker would be extremely entertaining for the fans. Time will tell if the promotion moves to book the catchweight contest.

UFC: Dan Hooker calls out Michael Chandler

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Newly signed Michael Chandler has already received his first UFC callout from a top five opponent. Dan Hooker (20-9) is focused and wants to be the guy who welcomes Chandler to the promotion.

In an interview with submission radio, Hooker had this to say of Chandler, “The UFC is putting a lot of stock in on this kid. So, I would love to be the guy to welcomes him to the UFC, knee his chin off, sends him back to the B-Leagues.”

Right now, Michael Chandler (21-5) is currently scheduled to be the backup fighter for UFC 254. Should Khabib Nurmagomedov or Justin Gaethje not make the fight, Chandler will step in to challenge for the title in his debut. You have to go back years to find the last time that happened.

Will the UFC make this happen?

Michael Chandler told Ariel Helwani yesterday that the promotion was still looking to possibly book him his own fight at UFC 254. A fight between Hooker and Chandler makes a ton of sense for the promotion.

You have the top two already booked in a title fight, and Tony Ferguson/Dustin Poirier seemed committed to their fight. That leaves Chandler and Hooker, which would be a fantastic matchup for the UFC to make.

Now, it doesn’t sound like Hooker would be ready for UFC 254. Hooker said, “I’m training and I’m ready to jump in a camp and get back in there. So, late November, December, my schedule’s wide open. So, we’re gonna book something.”

Perhaps the fight could come together by UFC 255 or maybe it could headline a Fight Night card in November or December. Either way, I think this is way to go if you’re the UFC. If Chandler doesn’t step in next month, then you should pivot towards making the Hooker fight.

UFC: Tony Ferguson – Dustin Poirier fight not happening

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Tony Ferguson, UFC

One of the most highly anticipated lightweight matchups of the fall will not happen. The UFC was planning on having Tony Ferguson (25-4) and Dustin Poirier (26-6, 1 NC) co-headline UFC 254. The promotion has been working on this fight for a while.

Things started to get bumpy when Poirier said yesterday that he was a, “Prize fighter and the prize needs to be right.” Seemingly, Poirier was suggesting that the negotiations with the UFC were not going well.

Well, ESPN’s Ariel Helwani is reporting this afternoon that the highly anticipated matchup between Poirier and Ferguson is off. According to Poirier, “UFC and I couldn’t come to terms. I won’t be fighting on October 24th.”

What does the UFC do now?

It’s tough to say what the UFC is planning to do next. We don’t know how far they were apart with Poirier, but for the fight to fall apart publicly, my guess is that the numbers were not close. I think the promotion will still try to keep Ferguson on the card.

In looking at the rankings, it’s possible that the UFC tries to throw Dan Hooker (20-9) in there. Hooker is coming off of a loss back in June to Poirier, but from a rankings perspective, he would be the next in line. I’m not counting Conor McGregor here.

Of course, there is a much sexier option that I would offer the UFC. Why not call up the hottest free agent in the business in Michael Chandler (21-5)? Chandler said that if he comes to the UFC, he wants to go right into the deep end. Doesn’t get much deeper than El Cucuy.

Of course, the UFC could always try to renegotiate the fight with Poirier for a later date. Time will tell what happens, but this is a tough blow for fans that were pumped for this fight.

Will it be the UFC or Bellator for Michael Chandler?

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Michael Chandler

Last Friday evening, Iron Michael Chandler (21-5) put on the perfect performance in the final fight of his Bellator contract. At Bellator 243, Chandler starched former UFC lightweight champion, Benson Henderson, in the first round.

Chandler was set to test free agency for the first time in his career. It was a dangerous fight for Chandler to take, but it says a lot about him as a fighter. He took the most dangerous opponent he could in his final fight on his contract.

It was dangerous, but Chandler had arguably the most impressive win of his career. Now, the 34 year old lightweight walks into free agency with a ton of momentum.

Will it be the UFC or Bellator?

When the fight was over, Chandler sounded like a fighter that might have a foot out the door with his current promotion. While he did say to Scott Coker, “Let’s get something done,” he also made it very clear that it could be his final fight in Bellator.

In the post-fight press conference, you could see the UFC wheels turning for Chandler. The media was asking him about potential matchups with guys like Conor McGregor and more.

As a competitor, there is a clear choice for Chandler. If he wants to prove that he is truly at the highest level, he needs to make the jump to the UFC. No disrespect to Bellator, but the competition is just not there.

Sure, there is Patricio Pitbull. Pitbull is definitely one of the best in the world, but the UFC‘s lightweight division is shark infested waters. The division is the most stacked division in the world, and I think that’s very appealing to Chandler.

I’ve wanted to see Chandler make the UFC jump for years now. I’ve always felt that he’s been one of the best lightweights in the world, but he never got the respect he deserved because he fought in Bellator.

This is his chance to prove himself. There is not a single easy fight in the UFC‘s top ten of the lightweight division. If Chandler makes the jump, I could see the promotion giving him someone like Dan Hooker out of the gate.

Unless they want to build him up a little inside the octagon. However, given Chandler’s background and history, I think he’d jump right into the deep end. My prediction is that by the November or December, we are going to be seeing Michael Chandler make the walk in the UFC.