Chase Hooper Looking Forward to Showing Off New Skills at UFC 263
Chase Hooper is one of the youngest and brightest prospects in the UFC’s featherweight division entering his fight at UFC 263 against Steven Peterson. While he has been mostly known for his impressive grappling skills, he’s been working on the other areas of MMA ahead of the bout on Saturday.
Hooper has been training with Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson and Ryan Hall ahead of the fight with Peterson, brushing up on his jiu-jitsu prowess with Hall and getting some striking tips from one of the most diverse strikers in the game in Thompson.
In a recent interview with MMA fighting, Hooper gave fans an insight into his new and improved skillset ahead of the Peterson fight.
“I feel like the last fight there was a bunch of fundamentals wrong with my striking,” Hooper said. “I felt there was something missing that was putting me out of position and not letting me realize the potential of my strikes. We worked on the basics and got rid of the bad habits I had.”
“I’m not even 22 yet and still have a long ways to go from the prime of my career. I gotta prove I deserve the amount of attention I’ve been getting in the UFC, putting the time in. I’m gonna keep growing for a while and have a positive outlook on my career and making the necessary improvements.”
The 21-year-old Hooper burst onto the UFC scene after an impressive win over Canaan Kawaihae on Dana White‘s Contender Series 14. Before that, he had an undefeated record fighting on the regional scene in Washington State and earned the championships in Combat Games and Dominate FC.
Hooper suffered his first professional loss at UFC 250 against Alex Caceres by unanimous decision. He had won his UFC debut against Daniel Teymur at UFC 245.
Hooper has a long way to go in his career and has a lot of potential to do great things in the featherweight division. His next bout at UFC 263 will do a lot to burst his stock as he continues his rise through the ranks in the 145-pound division.
Do you think Chase Hooper can be a UFC star one day?
