Never tell Chase Hooper the odds: he finds a way to win regardless of what he faces. The lightweight burst onto the scene at 2019 at just 20 years of age with a ground-and-pound finish of Daniel Teymur. Early on, he looked like one of the brightest prospects in the featherweight division. Although he struggled with striking for a long time, Hooper grew a lot in the UFC and found his home one division up at lightweight after a rocky few years at featherweight.
Hooper became known for his excellent grappling and affable appearance and personality more befitting an accountant than a fighter. However, overlooking Hooper in the cage leads to a bad night for his opponents. Hooper owns some nasty submission wins in both the UFC and grappling, including a calf slicer over UFC mainstay Clay Guida.
Chase Hooper Beating The Odds
Chase Hooper grew up in a small town in Washington state, and he had to work tirelessly to provide for himself. His mother was an alcoholic who also had mental health issues. His father had a hard time bearing the weight of those struggles, and so Hooper used jiujitsu to escape his tumultuous home life and compete at something he loved doing. Hooper won a Pan-Americas world championship in the blue belt division in 2016, and he continued to progress under former UFC fighter Jeff Hougland. After a while, he established himself as one of the brightest prospects coming out of the Combat Sport and Fitness gym in Enumclaw.
Once he turned 18, Hooper’s parents actually moved out of their home and left it to him, which he described as “white trash”. He credits Hougland and his staff for teaching him how to “be a man” in an interview with Michael Bisping and Anthony Smith on ‘Believe You Me‘. Chase Hooper fought often, fighting as an amateur before he turned 18 in the casinos on tribal land under guard to make sure he did not sneak away to the casino.
Hooper had an electric amateur career, finishing all six of his amateur fights by finish. As soon as he turned 18, Hooper turned professional to support himself. He often fought for a thousand dollars total win and show money and made just enough to keep the roof over his head. His girlfriend-turned-wife Anna supported them as well by working as a barista.
Their relationship beat the odds as well- the couple began dating in high school and they weathered the storm of financial stress and the grind of regional MMA together. The couple married a few years ago, and they are expecting their first child, Ellie, in June.
Chase Hooper Made His Mark Early
Hooper earned a DWCS shot at only 19 years old off a unanimous decision win over Drew Brokenshire. However, Hooper told Mick Maynard that he had a fight coming up and had to wait before his fight against Brett Maione. He won that fight by rear naked choke and earned his way into the UFC Apex.
Hooper was then set to square off against hard-hitting Hawaiian Canaan Kawaihae, who had him on the ropes in the first round and a half. Hooper weathered the storm to out-grapple Kawaihae and land some heavy ground and pound. He even said that Kawaihae hit him so hard that he remembers little of that fight.
Before the fight, he said that he only had 32 dollars in his bank account. He fought month-to-month to make sure he could make rent. The one-thousand-dollar check to show and win money on top kept him going for a few months, even if he had to return to the regional scene on a developmental contract.
He tore through the regional rankings knowing he would get a call at any time, winning two on the bounce against Sky Moiseichik and Luis Gomez. After those two fights, it was time for Hooper to join the UFC. He beat Teymur with a big flourish, but he was not yet 21. So, true to his sweet tooth, he celebrated by visiting the M&M store.
Jumping into the Fire
In his next fight, the UFC threw him into the fire against perennial contender Alex Caceres, a free-flowing and unorthodox striker. Caceres took advantage of his lack of takedowns and kept Hooper guessing on the feet, picking him apart on the way to a shutout decision win.
In his next fight against Peter Barrett, those striking holes remained, and he was down on the scorecards heading into the third round. Barrett’s striking proved a problem for Hooper, but he pulled out a stunning Imanari Roll and transitioned straight into a heel hook. Hooper cranked it to finish his third UFC fight, and proved he could hang with some of the best.
However, during that fight, the commentary team remarked on how skinny he was at 145 pounds. His lanky 6-foot-1 frame allowed him to grapple well in the division. The weight cut seemed like it was going well, but Hooper later revealed he had to keep his muscle mass down by eating a vegetarian diet which left him barely able to make it to training sessions.
In his last few fights at featherweight, he got beat on the feet once again by Steven Peterson and Steve Garcia, the latter coming by brutal knockout on Halloween weekend. He picked up an impressive knockout win over the late Felipe Colares with a third-round ground-and-pound win. This proved that he still belonged in the UFC even with those losses.
Moving To Lightweight
After the Garcia fight, Hooper moved up to lightweight to continue growing into his frame and making weight easier. He needed to work on his striking to turn into an elite prospect in the division. It steadily improved with his first few fights in the division. Hooper picked apart Nick Fiore on the feet, landing 149 significant strikes in the fight , just outside the top 10 for most at lightweight.
He turned to the “Monkey King” Jordan Leavitt next, but just missed an armbarin the first after rolling through a takedown into guard. He and Leavitt exchanged scrambles, and Hooper ate a huge punch from Leavitt that appeared to hurt him. However, he turned to take the back of Leavitt and sink an arm under the neck in one fluid motion for a nasty choke. It ended the fight seconds after it sunk in.
Making a Statement in St. Louis
His most recent performance against Viacheslav Borschev was one where many bet against him. He came into the fight a very slight underdog. People saw the value in Borschev with more than 240 professional kickboxing fights, and Hooper is unproven on the feet. However, he faked a takedown and followed it with a huge right hand that floored Borschev.
That takedown feint into the overhand right was indicative of true growth as a striker, as he recognized the fact that Borschev was wary of his ground game. Hooper also knew that Borschev had to jump on takedowns early, as he only had a 35% takedown defense in his career. Even though Hooper’s takedown skills are still raw, they posed a threat and he knew just how to exploit them.
Chase Hooper immediately jumped on Borschev and landed hellacious ground strikes that caused a large welt on his head. He latched on to Borschev’s back even as Borschev tried to get up and tried to sink in a submission. When that failed, Hooper continued with the ground and pound, and scored a 10-8 round. In the eyes of some observers, Hooper did everything but earn one of the few 10-7 rounds in history.
He continued to batter Borschev, coming very close to a stoppage until he finally was able to put the fight away via D’Arce choke. With this slick submission, he secured his third straight win with two finishes in a row.
The Future is Bright for “The Dream”
After the end of the fight, Hooper called out a “certain British fella” in Paddy Pimblett for their fight. Hooper acknowledged that the UFC was likely trying to give Pimblett a ranke fight. Another name he wanted on the radar was Claudio Puelles, which makes sense as both men are fantastic BJJ practitioners. However, after this last fight, Hooper looks dangerous on the feet.
That move up to lightweight meant that Hooper packed on a lot of power and muscle to his frame. Although his striking is not yet at the level of the best at 155, it is more than good enough to keep him in fights and let him get to work on the ground. As he learns from his trips to Greenville, S.C under Stephen Thompson, his strikes will only get tighter and more timely, and that is a huge problem for the rest of the division.
As his career progresses, Chase Hooper looks to only get scarier and scarier, at least inside the octagon. Outside of it, the 24-year-old is soon to be a father and could not be happier. As he says it, he takes things one fight at a time towards the top. We may even see him become a champion some day: he has the mentality and his skills are coming right along. Many would not be surprised, least of all Hooper.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
