Athletes
Chase Hooper Wants To Keep Building His Skill Set
Featherweight Up-And-Comer Chase Hooper Is Brimming With Confidence Heading Into UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs Allen
Chase Hooper doesn’t mind being back in Las Vegas at the UFC APEX for another fight.
Four out of his five UFC fights have taken place in Las Vegas, with three of them being at the APEX, and even though he does miss the feeling of a big crowd, Hooper appreciates the familiarity of routines.
Fight By Fight Preview | UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs Allen
“It's such a chill fight week,” Hooper said ahead of his bout at UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs Allen. “I really love the fact that with the warmup rooms and stuff in the back, you know exactly what's going to happen. I wouldn't say it's more beneficial than having the fan energy, but I know it's nice to not have to worry about anything going into the fight.”
Chase Hooper Fight Week Interview | UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs Allen
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Chase Hooper Fight Week Interview | UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs Allen
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The 23-year-old has gone 3-2 inside the Octagon since first making his UFC debut against Daniel Teymur in 2019. He steps into his matchup against Steve Garcia with an overall record of 11-2-1, having never been knocked out or submitted in his career.
Last time out he earned a third-round TKO victory over Felipe Colares.
“I feel like the last fight was a great example of where my potential is at and that's just coming into a fight confident and not doubting myself,” Hooper said. “The fight moves too fast for you to be second guessing; you don't have enough reaction time for that.”
Throughout this camp, Hooper has been focused on becoming a more complete fighter. Cardio has been a big emphasis during this camp as he aims to push the pace with future opponents.
Chase Hooper TKOs Felipe Colares | UFC Fight Night: Holm vs Vieira
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Chase Hooper TKOs Felipe Colares | UFC Fight Night: Holm vs Vieira
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He has earned five of his 11 wins by submission and is constantly looking to improve his grappling and wrestling game. Hooper is looking forward to this matchup against Garcia and facing a new test with a style he hasn’t experienced much.
“I'm actually looking forward to this fight because I get to fight a left-handed guy,” Hooper said. “I have some tricks that I like to use against left-handed guys, and fighting a taller guy, it's going to be fun. He’s somebody closer to my height, so I can show that side of it and not just fight like a stocky right-handed guy like I've always been doing.”
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Even though Hooper wants to show off some new things, he understands the importance of sticking to what you know and continuing to build on that, which in this case is his grappling. But come Saturday night, he hopes to use his cardio to push the pace and watch Garcia break.
“I think just pushing the pace a little more and being able to break somebody in the Octagon would be nice,” Hooper said. “I don't have that Khabib (Nurmagomedov) or Islam (Makhachev) style of fighting, but when you're pushing the pace and you can tell you've broke a guy, it's a good feeling, and that'd be a nice one to have on Saturday night, for sure.”
The featherweight is still early in his career, with his first professional fight coming in 2017. To begin, he rattled off six straight before his winning streak came to halt with a draw following his Dana’s White Contender Series debut in 2018.
Main Event Preview | UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs Allen
A win on Saturday would help him not only keep moving up the divisional ladder, but also allow him to continue to invest in himself with training camps and equipment, as he wants to continue to expand on his potential in the UFC.
“I need to obviously rack these wins up and then I can start looking higher up in the division and just keep using this platform and keep using all that to build my skill set,” Hooper said. “Obviously, you got to keep getting the wins and then you get a tougher fight each time, so I’m just using the wins, using the extra money, the extra attention and all that to help further my skill set.”
UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs Allen, took place live from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 29, 2022. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
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