Former Bellator Lightweight Champion Michael Chandler (21-5 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will make his Octagon debut on January 23 against Dan Hooker (20-9 MMA, 10-4 UFC) at UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi. For months, fans have long anticipated when Chandler would begin his UFC journey. Many thought that he would be able to sneak in a fight before 2020 ended.
It's official.
Dan Hooker will be the one to welcome Michael Chandler to the UFC, multiple sources confirmed to @bokamotoESPN after @danawhite broke the news to The Schmo earlier this week. pic.twitter.com/Lm4XYDjA6w
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 3, 2021
Chandler achieved an emphatic 18-5 record in the Bellator cage, which included multiple matches with Eddie Alvarez, David Rickels, Benson Henderson, Will Brooks, and Brent Primus. Chandler finished his career with a second win over Henderson by knockout back in August. Hooker suffered a unanimous decision loss to Dustin Poirier back in June.
The original plan was to match up Chandler with Charles Oliviera, who recently defeated Tony Ferguson at UFC 256, but Oliviera was concerned about weight cutting. UFC President Dana White scrapped the fight and pitted Chandler against Hooker instead.
Chandler was an NCAA Division I wrestling star at the University of Missouri while Hooker has a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. With Chandler having the more accomplished background, he looks to be the early favorite to face a kickboxing star from New Zealand.
Both men are 2-1 in their last three fights. Hooker looks to avoid a two-fight losing streak while Chandler is looking to add to his win streak from Bellator with three in a row in his UFC debut. UFC 257 will take place at Fight Island in Abu Dhabi on January 23rd.
