Dan Hooker clearly caused a stir after telling SCMP MMA this week he will “break the new toy real quick” when he fights Michael Chandler in the UFC 257 co-main event. Former Bellator lightweight champ Chandler (21-5) will make his UFC debut on January 23 in Abu Dhabi, looking to put himself into the title picture with a win over No 6-ranked Hooker (20-9). The “Hangman” has no intention of being a stepping stone, however, and had some stern words for the 34-year-old American. “They invested a whole lot of money to get this guy over to the UFC,” Hooker said. “And they are going to throw him in with me who is a bad stylistic match-up. I’m gonna break the toy in five minutes. I can’t say I feel sorry for them.” The 30-year-old New Zealander has opened as the favourite with oddsmakers for the Fight Island bout, but Chandler has sent him a clear warning after getting winds of his words. “Warning: choking hazard,” read a picture “Iron” posted to Twitter. “This is a new toy and may be unsafe for some users.” Warning. #UFC257 pic.twitter.com/1dODxpBUcX — Michael Chandler (@MikeChandlerMMA) January 8, 2021 Trash talk aside, Hooker has expressed his gratitude and admiration for Hooker stepping up and accepting the fight, after other top lightweights reportedly turned the bout down. “I think Paul Felder was the only other guy who said he would fight me,” Chandler told MMAFighting.com this week. “Everybody else either said no when the fight was offered to them or just stayed quiet. “We settled on Dan Hooker. He actually stepped up and said he wanted to fight me and I welcome that. I welcome all the trash talk. All the belittling. All the name calling.”