Age is nothing but a number for accomplished UFC lightweight fighter Chase Hooper
- Anezia Marques
- May 30, 2023
- 3 min read
Chase Hooper is just 23 years old, but for the last six years since he was 17, this black belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter has been maintaining his polished record since his days as an amateur. Before he threw his cap into the air to commend his high school graduation, Hooper already had five amateur wins under his belt.
He just secured his latest win against Nick Fiore, another Brazilian jiu-jitsu artist by unanimous decision this past Saturday, May 20 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. In Hooper’s latest fight, his focus was to “push the pace” and “get his opponent tired,” he shared during his post-fight interview.
Being as young as he is, Hooper naturally is still figuring out what works best for him before, during, and after camps. His body is still growing and changing, so for this fight’s camp, he listened to his body and adapted.
“I had never been able to train this hard on fight week before, not at featherweight, that’s for sure. Because so much of it was focused on the diet, I didn't have enough gas left in the tank; there weren’t enough carbs for me to be able to train hard. I was just kind of slogging through work outs, feeling horrible. That makes it harder going into a fight, confidence wise, but this week was the opposite,” said Hooper.
This time around, Hooper shared with the media that he had a great weight cut and an easier time refueling before the fight. Hooper is now sitting comfortably competing at 155 pounds under the lightweight division after previously competing at featherweight: a whole 10 pounds lighter. Hooper walks around on a normal day at 185 pounds, which made cutting for featherweight that much more strenuous on his body.
In the post-fight interview, he acknowledged that he is still young and has time on his side. With this time he can slowly and carefully make all the necessary corrections and improvements as he journeys through his promising career. With already seven UFC fights under his belt, it is clear that he does not need to rush the process. Hooper’s focus now is on his future opponents. He is hoping his next contenders can be other lightweight jiujitsu artists like himself.
“I feel like I’m in a spot where, again, I can take another fight at the end of the year… there are a ton of good jiujitsu guys here at lightweight. I’d like to start getting some fights with them,” said Hooper. “It’ll let me work on the other two areas, kind of like tonight.”
Hooper is hoping to gain confidence in striking and wrestling as he continues to improve his jiujitsu. While he is not a top 15 fighter just yet, Hooper’s name is already showing up in the stats books next to fighters who are and were in the top 15.
According to statleaders.ufc.com, he sits at number three for total strikes landed in the lightweight division in his fight against Nick Fiore (217). Number one on that list is Nick Diaz in his fight against Donald Cerrone (260). Hooper sits at number six for total head strikes landed in the lightweight division against Fiore (171). The top of that list is Diaz again against Cerrone (220).
His accomplished feats at a young age is garnering him attention and praise. Longtime MMA fan on Twitter @Boogerbeard1 responded to a tweet from @SandhuMMA:
“Sorry Dustin, but Chase Hooper is now the most violent Lightweight,” read the tweet. This tweet essentially denounced Justin Gaethje as the most violent lightweight.
“I can't believe Chase Hooper moved up a weight class and transformed from Ryan Hall into Max Holloway. That was an insane performance,” @ThatPacmanDude on Twitter.
It is never a dull moment when looking forward to the prospects of up-and-coming fighters. What young fighter is on your radar that you believe has a bright future in the UFC?
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