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Michael Chandler has entered UFC with quite some hype behind him. The former Bellator Lightweight Champion served as a back-up fighter for UFC 254 if Khabib Nurmagomedov or Justin Gaethje were to pull out. That didn't happen and the next couple of months saw Michael Chandler seek out an opponent.
UFC seemed more than willing to give Michael Chandler a Top 5 ranked fighter. While Tony Ferguson was a name thrown about, El Cucuy wanted to fight him in December. Michael Chandler argued that it would be better to fight in the co-main event of UFC 257 - one fight below Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier.
It was certainly a fair argument to make, but Tony Ferguson didn't seem too interested in waiting around and took a fight with the Brazilian Lightweight Charles Oliveira - who he will face at UFC 256 in December.
It seems to be no coincidence that Michael Chandler has seemingly been booked for his UFC debut. The former Bellator Lightweight Champion put out a tweet stating that his camp will be starting this Monday.
Who will Michael Chandler face in his UFC debut?
It's going to be interesting to see who Michael Chandler faces in his UFC debut. Since UFC has seemingly been willing to give Chandler a top 5 opponent, only two names are available - Justin Gaethje and Dan Hooker.
Dan Hooker hasn't fought since mid-2020, when he lost to Dustin Poirier in a five-round war. Justin Gaethje is coming off a loss as well - having fallen short to Khabib Nurmagomedov in a highly-anticipated main event at UFC 254.
There could be a fighter outside of the Top 5 that Michael Chandler may face, and that would certainly give him more options. UFC rarely ever does "warm-up" fights, so it wouldn't be surprising to see Michael Chandler thrown into a fight against a Top 5 Lightweight.
