Chase Hooper credits DWCS experience for making UFC 245 debut much easier

Take a look inside Chase Hooper’s TKO win over Daniel Teymur on Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 245 in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag] beat Daniel Teymur with a first-round TKO Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 245 in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Hooper, who first got on the UFC’s radar when he was 18 years old on Dana White’s Contender Series.

Result: Chase Hooper def. Daniel Teymur via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:34
Updated records: Hooper (9-0-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC), Teymur (7-4 MMA, 1-4 UFC)
Key stat: Hooper outstruck Teymur 37-2 on his way to the TKO win.

Hooper on the fight’s key moment

“He got in my face a little for the faceoff and talked some trash, but at the end of the day it’s good for the highlight tape. I tried to stay professional and it never really got to me.”

Hooper on his official UFC debut

“(It) feels fantastic to get my first UFC win. I think I did a good job of not getting too worked up by all of the pressure with an event of this magnitude. I had a lot of fun with the media stuff I got to do, so a good trip overall I’d say. (Dana White’s) Contender Series helped me 100 percent for this. Before that show, I had never done any photoshoots for a fight, I had never done any interviews or anything like that. So this was just a little step up from that.”

Hooper on what he wants next

“I’m trying to stay busy in 2020, as busy as they’ll let me really. As long as I’m not hurt, I’m going to work my way up that roster. (I’m) not sure how much someone under 21 can celebrate here in Vegas, but I’ll find something fun to do.”

To hear more from Hooper, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.

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