Dan Hooker thinks Conor McGregor has more to gain from fighting him than Michael Chandler.
McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) was slated to return against Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC), but after he withdrew from their UFC 303 booking in June, Chandler decided to move on. He runs things back with Charles Oliveira in the UFC 309 co-main event Nov. 16 in New York.
Chandler booking another fight left McGregor confused, as “The Notorious” still sees Chandler as a possibility for his return fight. However, Hooker (24-12 MMA, 14-8 UFC) thinks Chandler no longer make sense for McGregor. “The Hangman” entered the UFC’s top five lightweight rankings with a win over Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 305.
“He’s without a fight,” Hooker told Submission Radio on McGregor. “I know Conor’s hungry to fight, and fight someone that he can get something from and makes a lot of sense. That’s why I feel like Chandler kind of sitting there and waiting, and not staying active, you kind of lose. What does he get out of beating Chandler? He knocks out Michael Chandler in the first round, Conor McGregor doesn’t even get in that top five off of that performance.”
Hooker is confused to see Chandler run things back with Oliveira (34-10 MMA, 22-10 UFC). He understands Chandler’s motivation to avenge his 2021 title loss, but doesn’t see much incentive for Oliveira.
He teased big news coming up for himself, too.
“I get why they kind of put that fight together,” Hooker said. “That’s a big fight for the division. But I don’t know – it’s a weird fight. I was kind of trying to justify the fight, but no, it’s just a weird fight.Yeah, that might be just because I might have something up my sleeve, as well Might have a little something in the fire there, but it must be good if I’m saying nothing.
“I get why Chandler would want the fight. Obviously, if he gets by Oliveira, the UFC has kind of promised him a title shot, I’m sure of it. I don’t know too much about what Charles will get out of it. At our level, when you’re at the top five, top six in the division, it’s any man’s day. All of these fights are a bit of a coin flip.”
