Chase Hooper

Overview

Five of Chase Hooper's nine UFC wins are submissions, and every one of his three UFC losses by knockout came inside the first round. "The Dream" is a southpaw lightweight from Enumclaw, Washington, with a 9-5 UFC record and a 17-5-1 professional record across all promotions. He has finished seven of his nine UFC wins and has never been submitted in the UFC.

The risk comes with the reward. He hunts the finish, and the fights that go wrong tend to go wrong fast.

UFC Career

Hooper's path ran through Dana White's Contender Series 2.6, where he beat Canaan Kawaihae by unanimous decision in 2018. That fight is a professional win but not part of his UFC record. His UFC debut came at UFC 245, a first-round TKO of Daniel Teymur at 4:34.

The early UFC years were uneven. A unanimous decision loss to Alex Caceres was followed by a third-round submission of Peter Barrett, then another decision loss, to Steven Peterson. A third-round TKO of Felipe Colares came next, and then a first-round knockout loss to Steve Garcia in 1:32.

Then came his best stretch, a five-fight win streak, the longest of his UFC career. It started with a decision over Nick Fiore, followed by submissions of Jordan Leavitt (round 1), Viacheslav Borshchev (round 2) and Clay Guida (round 1). The streak ended with a unanimous decision over Jim Miller, an opponent our model rates as strong.

The streak ended against Alexander Hernandez, who knocked him out at 4:58 of round 1, two seconds from the bell. Lance Gibson Jr. followed with a first-round knockout in 2:56. Hooper answered with a first-round submission of Mitch Ramirez in 2:15, and he carries that one-fight win streak into his next bout.

Four first-round finishes for, three first-round knockouts against. Short fights are the norm either way.

Fighting Style

Chase Hooper is a grappler first. He shoots for takedowns constantly and hunts for submissions at a rate few fighters match, and the results back it up: five of his nine UFC wins are by submission, more than he has by knockout or decision.

He is also a busy striker who lands plenty, but he is easy to hit. He absorbs a lot of strikes, and the three knockout losses fit that picture. His accuracy and takedown defense are around the UFC average, so the weakness is in avoiding punches, not in stopping the fight from going to the mat.

Seven of his nine UFC wins are finishes, and four of them came in round 1. When he gets his grappling going early, the fight rarely goes long.

Notable Wins

• Jim Miller — unanimous decision, round 3, UFC 314 (2025)
• Clay Guida — submission, round 1, UFC 310 (2024)
• Jordan Leavitt — submission, round 1, UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Craig (2023)
• Daniel Teymur — KO/TKO, round 1, UFC 245 (2019)

Quick Facts

• Division: Lightweight
• UFC record: 9-5
• Professional record (all promotions): 17-5-1
• UFC debut: December 13, 2019
• Stance: Southpaw
• Height: 6'1"; reach: 74"
• Born: Enumclaw, WA, United States