Dan Hooker (photo via YouTube)

By FCF Staff

Michael Chandler is booked to fight Dan Hooker at UFC 257 later this month, but the former Bellator champ admits he wasn’t initially, expecting to face the contender.

Recently it was announced that Chandler will battle Hooker at the January 23rd event, which will also feature Conor McGregor taking on Dustin Poirier. While talking to ESPN after the fight’s announcement, Chandler said this (quote via MMA Junkie).

“Here’s what I would say: Dan Hooker wasn’t on the radar, or the highest run of the radar, mainly because of the pecking order of the UFC’s rankings,” Chandler said.

“Obviously, when I came in, the UFC wanted to give me a test right away – throwing around names like (Tony) Ferguson, like (Dustin) Poirier, and (Charles) Oliveira, who are No. 1, 2, 3 and 4 in the division. Obviously, aside from Khabib (Nurmagomedov), because he’s semi-retired right now, we’re not sure what he’s doing yet. But these were the names that they were trying to get me booked against, so it wasn’t that Dan Hooker wasn’t a formidable opponent.”

Hooker (20-9), who is ranked #6 in the UFC’s lightweight division, is coming off a decision loss to Poirier in June.

Chandler (21-5) eventually signed with the UFC, after stopping Benson Henderson at Bellator 243 in August.