Dan Hooker faced one of the hardest losses of his UFC career at UFC 257. While he was already coming off a loss, that came in a hard-fought 5-rounder against the man headlining the event in Dustin Poirier. Michael Chandler was the one to hand Hooker this loss in his promotional debut.

Hooker took the loss hard, taking off his gloves in the middle of the octagon. He has to find his way back to the top in an ultra-competitive lightweight division.

However, Michael Chandler is going to get a boost based on this win. Hooker commented on what his relationship with Chandler is now that their fight is done.

“I’ve bumped into Henry Hoof first when I went down to get something to eat. He came up to me and just. Yeah, everyone knows what it is. Then I bumped into Michael in the elevator, going back up. And just same thing.

“There’s no malice in there. There’s nothing. It is what it is. I just wished him the best as he moves on and same thing. He wished me the best in my career and that’s just what you do at this level.”

Dan Hooker: Where does he go from here?

Hooker will spend a fair bit of time away from the cage on a medical suspension. However, his potential as one of the brighter lightweights on the roster is not gone because of this loss.

He definitely won’t get another Top-5 opponent, but there are plenty of other enticing matchups that could help him raise his stock.

At the highest level, Hooker could possibly face Tony Ferguson. Both men lost their last 2 fights to Top-5 contenders, so it could be a natural matchup. What about other rising Lightweights like former champion Rafael Dos Anjos? Maybe even a high-risk fight against Islam Makhachev?

All these conversations are a fair few months away. But it is good to see that Hooker has a respectful relationship with Chandler. It is the fight business and consummate professionals understand there can be winners and losers without hard feelings.