UFC targeting Dan Hooker vs. Michael Chandler for UFC 257

Michael Chandler’s UFC debut may only be a month away. New Zealand website Stuff.co reported that Chandler and Dan Hooker have agreed to a bout at UFC 257 in January. Chandler vs. Hooker creates somewhat of a mini-tournament on the night as Conor McGregor is set to face Dustin Poirier in the main event of the evening.

Here’s how Patrick Auger and Drake Riggs reacted to the news.

Riggs says it’s a great fight and he’s all about it. He views Chandler as a top lightweight and would rank him somewhere in the #5 to #7 range. He thinks that Hooker is pretty much the best option for Chandler right now.

Auger agrees and says that from a business perspective the UFC needed to book Chandler in a fight like this. They’ve been treating him like an elite guy so he deserves this fight with a top lightweight.

Who do we think wins the fight at UFC 257?

Auger thinks that Hooker will demolish Chandler and says that he’ll wipe the floor with him. Hooker’s recent run has been fantastic with a competitive fight with the very-skilled Dustin Poirier and wins against Paul Felder, Al Iaquinta, and James Vick. Hooker has a granite chin and that was proven in these fights as well as the loss to Edson Barboza. He’s younger, he’s on the way up and he’s going to be a big force in this division. Auger believes he’ll be near title contention soon.

And on the other side is Chandler, who is getting a bit older and has been in some wars. He was the guy in Bellator for a while but Auger isn’t sold that we’re going to see the same world-class Chandler that we saw against Alvarez back in the day.

Riggs says that Auger is right to question Chandler’s recent run. Hooker is quite a large lightweight and will have the length and reach advantage, and that accompanied by him being a diverse and lethal striker with incredible toughness makes this a difficult fight for Chandler.

But Riggs says that Chandler’s combination of wrestling and striking is unique and may present problems for Hooker. He doesn’t agree with Auger that Hooker will walk through Chandler and expects this one to be very competitive.

Who wins this one at UFC 257? Let us know in the comments section below!

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