Next weekend at UFC 257, the former Bellator lightweight champion, three times Michael Chandler, will finally make his long-awaited UFC debut. It’s a great opportunity for Chandler to announce himself to UFC fans, but it also carries a lot of risks. Chandler will face Dan Hooker, sixth in the lightweight division, in his debut, and according to Daniel Cormier, that risk and reward are the ideal debut for Chandler.
“Perfect fight,” said Cormier in DC and Helwani. “Dan Hooker will challenge and make Michael Chandler fight in all aspects of mixed martial arts. Hooker is the toughest he can, he is a great team, he has an incredible fighting spirit, will, cardio. I mean, he and Dustin Poirier went to absolute war on APEX recently. So if you want to see if Michael Chandler is ready for the division elite or not, he has to fight and beat Dan Hooker, which is not an easy thing to do ”.
The last time a Bellator champion came to the UFC, it was Eddie Alvarez who debuted against Donald Cerrone. Alvarez ended up losing a decision, which hampered his aspirations for the title from the start. Likewise, Cormier believes that Dan Hooker has a lot of potential to do the same against Chandler, making “Iron” Mike’s victory even more impressive.
“Challenging fight,” said Cormier. “I’m not sure. Besides Patricio Pitbull – who is fantastic – this will be the toughest fight he has ever had. . . When you look at who Dan Hooker is today, in his absolute heyday, coming out of a main event fight with Dustin Poirier where he went eye for an eye for over 25 minutes, this is easily one of the biggest fights Chandler has ever been involved in. also has the problem. He fights the same night as Conor McGregor. Chandler will really be uplifting if he does the job. But if he doesn’t, we are back in the situation where you have those highly regarded free agents and it doesn’t work. “
Ultimately, things worked out for Alvarez, who after Cerrone’s defeat won a few fights and then won the lightweight title before losing it to the man who will headline UFC 257, Conor McGregor. And since McGregor is the main event, Cormier has advice for Chandler: if he wins, call Conor.
“I know my guy (Khabib Nurmagomedov) is one of the biggest stars in the world right now, but do you remember UFC 205?” Cormier said. “‘I want to fight your chicken!’ … Khabib is in the preliminaries: ‘I want to fight your chicken!’ then, suddenly, they start mentioning Khabib and Conor at the same time. Khabib is not yet champion, he is a young guy on the rise and then he just gains body and the UFC can call back.
“For Chandler to be in the main co-event, it puts him in a perfect position. And Dan Hooker too. If I go Dan Hooker and win, I’m immediately saying something about McGregor. Whoever wins with 155 pounds on that fight card, do you say anything about McGregor because guess what? McGregor does not have the ability to not respond. He will say something back. Because he goes ahead and kind of says something and elevates you. There is a level of stardom that comes with fighting and with this guy that I’ve never seen. So, I’m going to call you if I’m Michael Chandler and I’m happy to be in that place. “
UFC 257 takes place on January 23 at Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.
Mystic Mac. Conor McGregor predicts Dustin Poirier’s knockout ‘within 60 seconds’ at UFC 257.
The good place. Dana White ‘in a good place’ with Conor McGregor now, but reveals ‘I was really upset’ last year.
Plans. Dana White wants to mark the next fight for the title of Zhang Weili in Asia against Rose Namajunas or Carla Esparza.
205. Corey Anderson believes Bellator ‘has an advantage’ with a better light heavyweight division than the UFC.
Fight preview for UFC Fight Island 7.
Wrestling.
Breaking famous MMA injuries.
Francis Ngannou pre-combat field.
Conor arriving at Ilha da Luta.
The Co-Main Event. Discussing UFC debut on ABC and Max vs. Calvin.
Run back.
Interesting quote from Jon.
In light of Dana White telling ESPN that he would like Jon Jones and Israel Adesanya to fight at light heavyweight, here is a quote from my interview in late December with Jones that did not appear in the article.
It will be interesting to see if the UFC can make this happen. pic.twitter.com/zJRFWgQZAt
– Tom Taylor (@TomTayMMA) January 11, 2021
Goals.
2021 I want to face the best and get what I have been looking for for so long.
First Italian Ufc champion– Marvin Vettori (@MarvinVettori) January 12, 2021
Crazy.
To call.
Tony.
Impatient.
Trevin Giles (13-2) vs. Dricus Du Plessis (15-2); UFC Fight Night, Marc. 20
Thanks for reading and see you tomorrow
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