Tag: Chase Hooper

Heavier but happier: Relieved Chase Hooper no longer ‘trying to fight puberty’ in his new UFC weight class

A lot has changed over the past five years for Chase Hooper, but he thinks his UFC lightweight debut showed it all was for the better.

LAS VEGAS – Featherweight wasn’t kind to [autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag] physically, which is why he’s so happy lightweight is off to a great start.

On Saturday at UFC Fight Night 224, Hooper (12-3-1 MMA, 4-3 UFC) dominated New England Cartel fighter Nick Fiore (6-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) en route to a sweep of every round on all three judges’ scorecards.

“It felt great this week,” Hooper told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “I think I showed with my performance I was able to push the pace. This is where I’m starting to hit my stride, in my seventh UFC fight.”

Hooper, 23, has been on the official UFC roster since 2019. He joined the UFC system a year prior when he earned a development deal on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018. Hooper was 18 at the time. His youth posed unusual problems as Hooper not only needed to adjust to a fighter’s lifestyle, but his body was also going through changes as well. Eventually, featherweight didn’t make much sense.

“I was probably walking around at 185, which I was still making it,” Hooper said. “The issue is that my body would stop with the diet. It would stop losing weight at about 170, 175. I had to switch the last couple weeks of my fight camps to like protein shakes only. Protein shakes and then I’d have like little packets of honey before training. So I was murdering myself trying to get down to 145. I had to vegetarian that whole time, too. I was really restricting myself in and out of fight camp trying to fight puberty and stay at 145. I think, in the end, it was doing more harm than good. I feel great at 155 now.”

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Hooper indicated lightweight is his home for the foreseeable future. He hopes his performances in the cage continue to improve, as the online jabs decrease.

“I started eating meat again. I started lifting a little harder. Hopefully that shows in the fight,” Hooper said. “Hopefully I’m a little more muscular looking. Not as many people are calling me skinny on the internet. I don’t think I need to put any more size on and I think it showed tonight. I was able to keep up with a guy who’s been at (lightweight) his whole career. He’s a decent sized lightweight. He’s not undersized. Neither am I. It just let me know I’m in the right spot.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.

UFC Fight Night 224 post-event facts: Mackenzie Dern climbs strawweight bonus list

Check out all the facts and figures from UFC Fight Night 224, which saw Mackenzie Dern rack up another $50,000 bonus in the main event.

The UFC closed out its May schedule on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 224, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

In the main event, [autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) defeated [autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] (15-13 MMA, 10-13 UFC) by unanimous decision in the Fight of the Night, with the grappling specialist landing a career-best 126 significant strikes over the course of five rounds.

For more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts about UFC Fight Night 224.

5 biggest takeaways from UFC Fight Night 224: The newest version of Mackenzie Dern is a freaking problem

Thoughts and analysis of the biggest storylines coming out of UFC Fight Night 224, including Mackenzie Dern’s beastly showing.

What mattered most at UFC Fight Night 224 in Las Vegas? Here are a few post-fight musings …

UFC Fight Night 224 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Two fighters net max non-title money

UFC Fight Night 224 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 224 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $179,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC Fight Night 224 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 224 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Edmen Shahbazyan[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Emily Ducote[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Loopy Godinez[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Andre Fialho[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Hayisaer Maheshate[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Viacheslav Borshchev[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Diego Ferreira[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Michael Johnson[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Karolina Kowalkiewicz[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Vanessa Demopoulos[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Gilbert Urbina[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Orion Cosce[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Rodrigo Nascimento[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Ilir Latifi[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Nick Fiore[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Natalia Silva[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Victoria Leonardo[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Themba Gorimbo[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Takashi Sato[/autotag]: $6,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2241 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $3,214,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $17,803,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.

UFC Fight Night 224 play-by-play and live results

Check out live play-by-play and official results from UFC Fight Night 224 in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 224 took place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

In the main event, Mackenzie Dern (13-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) takes on Angela Hill (15-13 MMA, 10-13 UFC) in a women’s strawweight bout. In the co-feature, Anthony Hernandez (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) meets Edmen Shahbazyan (12-4 MMA, 5-4 UFC) at middleweight.

To discuss the show, be sure to check out our UFC Fight Night 224 discussion thread. You can also get behind-the-scenes coverage and other event notes from on-site reporter Ken Hathaway (@kenshathaway ) on Twitter.

UFC Fight Night 224 pre-event facts: Will third time be the charm for Mackenzie Dern?

Check out the numbers behind UFC Fight Night 223, where Mackenzie Dern will make her third attempt at a UFC main event victory.

After two weeks on the road, the UFC returns to its home base on Saturday for UFC Fight Night 224 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The entire card streams on ESPN+.

The makeshift main event for the card will feature a pair of strawweight contender hopefuls. [autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) will meet [autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] (15-12 MMA, 10-12 UFC) in a five-round matchup.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts for UFC Fight Night 223.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (April 17-23)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from April 17-23.

Chase Hooper vs. New England Cartel’s Nick Fiore in the works for UFC Fight Night on May 20

Chase Hooper has his next UFC fight on the books as he’ll take on Nick Fiore, a main training partner of Rob Font and Calvin Kattar.

[autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag] has his next assignment.

At the UFC Fight Night event scheduled for May 20, Hooper (11-3-1 MMA, 3-3 UFC) will face [autotag]Nick Fiore[/autotag] (6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in a lightweight bout. The event does not currently have a finalized location or venue.

Two people with knowledge of the booking informed MMA Junkie of the matchup but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Hooper, 23, has alternated wins and losses throughout his six-fight UFC tenure since he entered the promotion with a lot of buzz in December 2019. The most recent time Hooper competed was in October when Steve Garcia defeated him with strikes. UFC victories for Hooper include Daniel Teymur, Peter Barrett, and Felipe Colares.

Fiore, 25, made his promotional debut on short notice against Dana White’s Contender Series signee Mateusz Rebecki at UFC Fight Night 217 and lost by unanimous decision. Fiore is a member of the New England Cartel under coach Tyson Chartier and is a main training partner of UFC contenders Calvin Kattar and Rob Font.

With the addition, the UFC Fight Night lineup for May 20 includes:

  • Anthony Hernandez vs. Edmen Shahbazyan
  • Diego Ferreira vs. Michael Johnson
  • Vanessa Demopoulos vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
  • Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Brunno Ferreira
  • Ilir Latifi vs. Rodrigo Nascimento
  • Viacheslav Borshchev vs. Hayisaer Maheshate
  • Nick Fiore vs. Chase Hooper

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for the UFC Fight Night event May 20.

UFC Fight Night 213 post-event facts: Arnold Allen makes history with 10-0 octagon start

Check out all the facts from UFC Fight Night 213, where Arnold Allen became just the sixth in history to go 10-0 in the octagon.

The UFC closed its October schedule Saturday with UFC Fight Night 213, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

In the main event, [autotag]Arnold Allen[/autotag] (19-1 MMA, 10-0 UFC) kept his perfect octagon record intact when he picked up a second-round injury TKO win over [autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag] (23-7 MMA, 7-5 UFC) in their featherweight bout.

For more on the numbers to come out of the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 213.