In a lightweight bout on Saturday’s main card, Dan Hooker and Michael Chandler meet at UFC 257 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The early prelims and prelims kick off at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+, followed by the main card on Pay-Per-View at 10 p.m. ET.
Hooker (20-9) heads into this match towering four inches over his counterpart, and he has a four-inch reach advantage, too. In addition, the switch stance Kiwi holds a 4.98 to 4.08 significant strikes landed per minute advantage with a slight lead in significant strikes-accuracy percentage at 48.16 to 47.04.
Chandler (21-5) will be trying to avoid a toe-to-toe battle in what will be his debut under the UFC banner. He will try to get this one to the mat as quickly as possible. He has a 2.57 to 0.74 takedown average and 41.74 to 34.78 takedown-accuracy advantage over Hooker, and Chandler leads 1.54 to 0.28 in takedown average, too, doing most of his damage in Bellator.
Hooker is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Dustin Poirier in the main event June 27, 2020, at the UFC’s APEX Facility. The loss snapped a three-bout win streak. Each of Hooker’s past three fights have ended up going the distance.
Chandler posted back-to-back knockouts against Sidney Outlaw and Benson Henderson prior to leaving for the UFC. The 34-year-old still has plenty left in the tank, and he is looking to make an immediate splash in the UFC by taking out one of the top contenders in the division.
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Hooker vs. Chandler: Betting odds, predictions and picks
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 5:21 a.m. ET.
All eyes will be on CHANDLER (+125), as he steps up from Bellator to the UFC, and fights what he calls one of the scariest lightweights in the company. The American will make an immediate splash with a stoppage in his first UFC bout, so grab him at plus-money on the 2-way line.
Hooker – a.k.a. “The Hangman” – will be looking to keep Chandler at a distance and upright, using his reach advantage to try and knock out the newcomer to the division. I also like CHANDLER BY KO/TKO, DQ OR SUBMISSION (+360) with a small-unit play to more than triple up. In addition, playing NO (-120): “WILL THE FIGHT GO THE DISTANCE?” is also a good wager. UNDER 2.5 ROUNDS (+100) will also work at even money.
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MMA Junkie:
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