Michael Chandler made his official Octagon debut in the co-headliner of UFC 257: Poirier vs McGregor 2 on January 24 in the US and January 25 in Australia. Battling it out at Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, former three-time Bellator MMA lightweight champion squared off against Dan Hooker.
The scheduled for three-rounds matchup didn’t go the distance. During the first two minutes of the opening round the fighters mostly circled around the cage, throwing single shots. On the third minute Chandler landed a powerful left hook dropping Hooker to the canvas.
He followed it up with a barrage of strikes, while his opponent was pinned down. The referee stepped in and the fight ended at the official time of 2 minutes and 30 seconds.
Not a bad UFC debut for @MikeChandlerMMA 😳 #UFC257 pic.twitter.com/9PhUnKJx0g
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 24, 2021
With the win Michael Chandler secured his third win in a row, as well as the first inside the UFC Octagon. He also updated his record to 22-5.
Dan Hooker suffered the second defeat in a row and dropped to 20-10.
In the main event of UFC 257 Dustin Poirier knocked out Conor McGregor in the second round of their rematch (fight video highlights here).
The full fight results from the event can be found here.
