Dan Hooker’s stock is once again on the rise in the UFC lightweight division.

New Zealand’s “Hangman” won his third consecutive fight (24-12 overall) for the first time since 2019-2020 when he earned a split decision over Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 305 this past Saturday. With the win, Hooker finds himself in the mix atop the division as the fifth-ranked contender in the UFC’s official rankings.

Hooker, 34, can expect a big fight in his next time out and targets the former champion Charles Oliveira as the likeliest matchup. However, another former champion in Ireland’s Conor McGregor is still expected to return around the end of the year. That might be optimistic at this stage, but regardless, Michael Chandler has been the name attached to McGregor’s return. Ultimately, Hooker doesn’t see what Chandler does for McGregor.

“I feel like it’s a smart option,” Hooker told Submission Radio. “You’re going to fight a guy in the top five on a on a three fight win streak or are you going to fight a guy who’s not in the top five and coming off a loss?

“I’ve been staying active and I’ve been fighting the best guys in the world. It just is what it is. He has more to gain from fighting me than he does from Chandler.”

Coincidentally, Chandler made his UFC debut against Hooker at UFC 257 in January 2021. The former three-time Bellator champion knocked out Hooker in round one before McGregor got knocked out in that night’s main event in his Dustin Poirier rematch.

McGregor, 36, notoriously battled Poirier in their trilogy immediately that following July, which was his last octagon appearance, breaking his leg in round one and suffering a TKO defeat. Whether it’s McGregor, Oliveira, or someone else, Hooker knows he’ll be fighting for a title shot next.

Since McGregor is always a fight away from a title, why not him?

“My next fight is going to be a title eliminator,” Hooker said. “That’s what my next fight is going to be. So, if he wants, if he genuinely wants to get back in the mix and genuinely wants to earn his way back to a world title, it makes a lot of sense.”