Kiwi mixed martial arts star Dan Hooker is ready to welcome the UFC's "shiny new toy" to the lightweight division.
When American star Michael Chandler signed with the UFC late last year after a decorated career with rival promotion Bellator, and was instantly named as the backup for a titlefight, it showed just how highly the UFC thought of him.
It also meant there was every chance he would eventually be welcomed into the octagon by Kiwi Dan Hooker, who was the only athlete in the top five of the UFC's lightweight division who was not either booked or rumoured to be booked at the end of 2020.
Now, Hooker will get that chance, squaring off against Chandler at UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi at the end of the month.
Talks to make the fight happen began late last year, however the bout wasn't officially agreed until this week. Hooker has a theory as to why it took so long to get across the line.
"Early on I know they were trying to get [Justin] Gaethje to take the fight, then they were trying to get Charles Oliveira to take the fight," Hooker explained.
"Maybe they wanted to protect their new toy; Dana White's invested a bunch of money in this new guy, hyped him up and I'm like that cousin you don't lend your toys to, because I'll break them real quick."
Hooker has been on a tear since committing to fighting in the lightweight division in 2017 following an inconsistent run at featherweight, and has won seven of his nine bouts in the heavier weight class.
Most recently, he suffered a unanimous decision loss against former interim champion Dustin Poirier in June. Poirier will fight Irish superstar Conor McGregor in the UFC 257 main event.
Dan Hooker and Dustin Poirier fought out a fight of the year contender in June last year. Photo / Getty Images
Reflecting of the fight from June, Hooker said there was plenty to take out of it and implement for his bout against Chandler, however the main thing was the he was able to take Poirier – known for having supreme cardio – the distance after a less than ideal camp.
With the fight against Chandler being a three-round fight in the co-main event slot, Hooker said it made things a lot different and, with Chandler having been the backup for a recent UFC title fight, it was a chance for Hooker to put himself back into that conversation.
"Three rounds with a full camp? That's a whole different story to the last fight – five rounds on a few weeks training is a tall ask against a guy with an incredible gas tank. I've made a lot of improvements but that's definitely something I'm smiling about. I do very well early on in my fights so I'm excited to go out there and push a three-round paced fight with a full camp.
"I've got a full tank; I'm full of beans and I'm ready to go."
UFC 257: Poirier v McGregor II Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. Sunday, January 24
