Hooker Scorches Oliveira For Turning Down Chandler

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president, Dana White, has gone on record to say that Charles Oliveira was offered a fight against Michael Chandler at UFC 257 but ultimately turned down the fight due to the short nature of the turnaround time.

“Do Bronx” was just a couple of weeks removed from his dominant performance against Tony Ferguson at UFC 256 and fighting right away was a no-go because he didn’t feel he could do another weight cut so soon. As a result, Dan Hooker got the opportunity to step in and welcome the former Bellator MMA champion to the Octagon this Saturday night (Jan. 23, 2021) on “Fight Island.”

During a recent pre-fight presser (video replay here) to promote the pay-per-view (PPV) event, Hooker slammed Oliveira for turning down the fight, as well as his reasoning behind it.

“The only reason I’m here is because everyone ahead of me turned the fight down,” Hooker said via MMA Junkie. “They didn’t want to take the risk. They didn’t want to risk their spot. They come up with a bunch of excuses.”

“Old ‘Charlie Olives’ saying he can’t make the weight. Dana, you believe ‘Charlie Olives’ can’t make the weight? I’ve got broomsticks thicker than that boy. I’m here. I’m taking the risk. That means I reap the reward.”

Indeed, if “The Hangman” can spoil Chandler’s UFC debut his stock will go up a few points and perhaps put himself in the thick of the championship race, especially if Khabib Nurmagomedov decides to stay retired once and for all.

As for what could be next for “Do Bronx,” a showdown against former interim Lightweight champion Justin Gaethje seems to be on the horizon, though the Brazilian bomber is looking for bigger fish to fry.