When one door closes, another potentially opens. That is how Dan Hooker sees it when it comes to a fight against Conor McGregor, a man seemingly without an opponent heading into 2025.
McGregor (22-6), who last fought in 2021, has been booked to face Michael Chandler since the end of The Ultimate Fighter 31 in August 2023. However, like everyone else, Chandler was waiting for a sign from UFC brass that the fight was official. And we all continued to wait.
With McGregor unlikely to fight until 2025, per UFC CEO Dana White, Chandler moved on. He will fight Charles Oliveira in a rematch on November 16 at UFC 309 in New York. The former Bellator champion may face McGregor again if the matchup makes sense, though a win against Oliveira could earn Chandler a title shot.
McGregor is a wanted man with two fights left on his deal with the UFC. Everyone has called him out over the last few years despite his last win being in 2020. Hooker (24-12) has now entered those conversations.
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The Auckland-born fighter may be teasing he is the one to welcome McGregor back to the octagon.
"I get why they kind of put that fight (Oliveira-Chandler 2) together," Hooker told Submission Radio via MMA Junkie. "That's a big fight for the division. But I don't know – it's a weird fight. I was kind of trying to justify the fight, but no, it's just a weird fight. Yeah, that might be just because I might have something up my sleeve, as well. Might have a little something in the fire there, but it must be good if I'm saying nothing.
"I get why Chandler would want the fight. Obviously, if he gets by Oliveira, the UFC has kind of promised him a title shot, I'm sure of it. I don't know too much about what Charles will get out of it. At our level, when you're at the top five, top six in the division, it's any man's day. All of these fights are a bit of a coin flip."
Hooker has seen a career resurgence, winning three straight following a run where he went 1-4. His last fight was a win against Mateusz Gamrot, putting him fifth in the UFC's lightweight rankings.
With Oliveira (#2) and Chandler (#6) facing off, McGregor needs a big fight to get back to title contention. Perhaps it is "The Hangman" that receives the call.
