“You’ve got Conor and Poirier fighting. You’ve got me and Hooker fighting and I’m ready to fight Jan. 23,” Chandler believes the winner of both fights should compete for the title

“You’ve got Conor and Poirier fighting. You’ve got me and Hooker fighting and I’m ready to fight Jan. 23,” Chandler believes the winner of both fights should compete for the title
Michael Chandler

Michael Chandler is looking to make an impact on his debut against Dan Hooker at UFC 257, the former Bellator champ signed up for the new promotion and he isn’t taking the opportunity for granted.

In an interview with MMA Fighting, he said, “I think going out there and beating Dan Hooker puts me in the No. 5 or No. 4 spot. I think Tony Ferguson’s sitting at No. 5 right now. He’s on a two-fight losing streak. You’ve got Justin Gaethje but he just lost and he’s kind of sitting and waiting for the division to kind of see what happens, to see what clarity coming from the Conor [McGregor] and [Dustin] Poirier fight.

“With Khabib Nurmagomedov talking retirement, that leaves a large lane for one of us guys to step out, get a big win, and get an interim title or the real title.”

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“You’ve got Conor and Poirier, obviously guys who are competing for that No. 1 contender’s spot. You’ve got Justin Gaethje, who’s sitting out right now letting it all play out, yet he knows he needs to get a win if he wants his name to get thrown into the hat for that title.”

“He can’t come off of a title fight loss, getting finished by Khabib in the second round, getting choked out unconscious and then getting a next immediate title shot. It’s just not going to happen. You’ve got Oliveira sitting at No. 3, he just fought.”

“It’s pretty cut and dry who the top guys are in this weight class. You’ve got Conor and Poirier fighting. You’ve got me and Hooker fighting and I’m ready to fight Jan. 23, take a couple of weeks off, enjoy my family, serve them for a little while and see what’s next in the summertime. I’ll be ready to fight for that title in the summertime.”

Chandler believes the winner of Conor and Poirier would most likely be the champion

Michael Chandler, Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor

Chandler says the winner of Conor vs. Poirier is most likely to be the champ and beating Hooker would be the best way to get his title shot. In the said interview he said

“If I go out there and dominate Dan Hooker like I believe I’m going to, why shouldn’t it be me fighting Conor or Poirier for either the No. 1 contender’s spot, an interim title, or the title?” Chandler said. “We’ll see what happens. I’m going to grab some popcorn and watch cage side and expect to fight the winner.

“All I know is I’m going to go out there and do my job on the biggest stage possible and it’s going to be a lot of fun. A lot of questions will be answered.”

Also read Conor McGregor donated $500,000 towards Dustin Poirier’s foundation.