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Michael Chandler had a light-hearted moment on the scales as he made weight for UFC 257. The former Bellator lightweight champion impersonated the famous villain 'Bane' from the third instalment of the Batman trilogy - 'The Dark Knight Rises'.
The respirator mask that fighters can be seen donning on fight week seems quite similar to the look of 'Bane' in 'The Dark Knight Rises'. While posing for the cameras at the weigh-ins for UFC 257, Michael Chandler imitated the supervillain from the DC universe.
"I was born in the darkness", said Michael Chandler as he put on his respirator mask after making weight. Chandler weighed in at 156 pounds for his bout against Dan 'The Hangman' Hooker at UFC 257. This bout will mark the debut of Chandler in UFC's lightweight division.
Why is a win at UFC 257 important for Michael Chandler?
Michael Chandler comes in as an underdog to fight Dan Hooker at UFC 257. In the press conference leading up to the event, Chandler seemed appreciative for the opportunity to compete against the best athletes in the world.
While training for his fights in other promotions, Michael Chandler always dreamt of fighting in the UFC one day. In a recent video that he put out on his Instagram handle, Chandler stated that he has defeated decorated UFC athletes like Eddie Alvarez and Benson Henderson.
Michael Chandler is on a mission to prove that he is one of the finest lightweight athletes in the world. In his interview with BT Sport, Chandler revealed his wish to compete against Khabib Nurmagomedov. Chandler believes that a win over Dan Hooker at UFC 257 will help him leapfrog the top 5 lightweights and fight for the title against The Eagle.
"You look at my body of work - I got a lot of knockouts, I got a lot of submissions, I've used my wrestling. Can I be the guy that stops Khabib's wrestling? I think that is a legitimate question. We will find that out inside the cage," said Chandler.
It is speculated that the winners of the main and co-main event of UFC 257 will fight for the title if Khabib Nurmagomedov decides to stay retired. However, Michael Chandler wants to face the Eagle and prove that American freestyle wrestling can be an effective style to combat against Dagestani Sambo.
It will be interesting to see how the landscape of the lightweight division changes after UFC 257 and whether Khabib Nurmagomedov will come out of retirement to fight once again.
