Michael Chandler will make his debut against Dan Hooker at UFC 257 but he could have been facing Tony Ferguson
Former Bellator Champion, Michael Chandler, opened up on his failed fight against Tony Ferguson.
Chandler came into the UFC with a lot of hype and wanted to face a top star in his debut. He wanted a crack at former interim UFC Lightweight champion Ferguson but that fight just couldn’t take place.
Chandler is now set to fight Dan Hooker at UFC 257 but the American opened up on why the Ferguson fight didn’t take place.
He was speaking to Brett Okamoto of ESPN and claimed that there were some management issues and it was Ferguson who first said no:
“The Tony Ferguson situation was definitely mismanaged.
“We had the opportunity for him and I to step inside in January inside the Octagon on this card, Tony says ‘No’.”
Chandler also didn’t understand how Ferguson took up the Charles Oliveira fight and needed some time off too:
“Then he takes a short notice fight against Oliveira after calling me out and I said ‘No’.
“I needed three or four weeks off between, after this nine month long training camp that I did.”
No problems with Ferguson
Despite the failed fight and the miscommunication, Chandler still holds Ferguson in high regard and claimed it was unfortunate things didn’t fall into place.
“My opinion of him hasn’t changed, it is just unfortunate that I am not fighting Tony Ferguson right now.”
The former Bellator star added that he was given four big names by the UFC and Hooker was one of them.
This clash should be a real test for Chandler as Hooker is one of the big names in the UFC Lightweight division.
The Hangman might be coming off a loss against Dustin Poirier, but Chandler cannot take him lightly.
This is also the perfect chance for Hooker to bounce back and it will be interesting to see how this clash goes.
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