Tag: Chase Hooper

UFC 250 results: Alex Caceres dominates Chase Hooper for unanimous decision victory

Chase Hooper entered UFC 250 with a lot of buzz, but Alex Caceres didn’t let the hype get to him.

[autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag] entered UFC 250 with a lot of buzz, but [autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag] didn’t let the hype get to him.

Caceres (16-12 MMA, 11-10 UFC) defeated Hooper (9-1-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) by unanimous decision on Saturday night.

From the opening bell, Caceres exposed the difference in skill in the striking department. Throughout the fight, Caceres popped Hooper with clean jabs and straight punches. Hooper never was able to create consistent success. Apart from a few punches and semi-dominant grappling positions, Hooper was largely outmatched.

In the first round, Hooper was dropped as he walked straight into a Caceres counter-punch. In the second round, Caceres picked Hooper apart. Striking was Caceres’ key to success, and he neutralized Hooper’s grappling. In Round 3, Hooper struggled to muster up offense, even pulling guard at one point. When the scorecards were read, it was a clean sweep for Caceres, 30-27 across the board.

With the victory, Caceres hands Hooper his first loss. Caceres, who has been in the UFC since 2011, is on a winning streak for the first time since 2016.

The featherweight bout closed out the UFC 250 preliminary card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+ ahead of the main card on pay-per-view.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 250 results include:

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UFC 250: 4 rising stars ready to shine in Las Vegas

Take a look at some of the sport’s brightest prospects featured on the fight card at UFC 250.

Saturday, UFC 250 sees the UFC Apex host a pay-per-view event for the first time when some of the sport’s brightest prospects get ready to showcase their potential on the big stage in Las Vegas.

Headlining the event is a fight between two-division UFC women’s champion Amanda Nunes and challenge Felicia Spencer. Nunes is putting her 145-pound title on the line for the first time.

Also on the card is a pivotal bantamweight clash between Aljamain Sterling and Cory Sandhagen, who are looking to cement themselves as the No. 1 contender at 135 pounds.

And Dana White’s Contender Series alums Sean O’Malley, Alonzo Menifield and Chase Hooper all will look to remain unbeaten as they continue to climb up the ranks in their divisions.

UFC 250 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

Ahead of fight night, let’s take a closer look at four fighters on the rise at UFC 250.

Cory Sandhagen

Elevation Fight Team’s [autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag] has dazzled since joining the UFC roster in January 2018.

Displaying a creative and technical style, the well-rounded Sandhagen (12-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) quickly showed off his skills, stopping his first three opponents in the UFC.

He was given a big step up in competition when he was matched up with the hard-hitting John Lineker, and Sandhagen was able to use his footwork and movement to outmaneuver the Brazilian powerhouse.

He then faced Raphael Assuncao at UFC 241 this past August and picked up a dominant decision win over the 135-pound staple for his biggest victory to date.

Five UFC fights into his career, Sandhagen finds himself on the cusp of a title shot when he takes on fellow streaking bantamweight Aljamain Sterling at UFC 250.

Next up: “The Suga Show” looks for sweet return

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Chase Hooper embracing quirky side of MMA: ‘This is a ridiculous job, and I can’t take it too seriously’

Chase Hooper has fought just once inside the UFC’s famed octagon, but the 20-year-old’s personality has earned him more attention than most.

LAS VEGAS – Believe it or not, [autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag] has fought just once inside the UFC’s famed octagon.

One could easily think it’s been more, given the amount of attention he received both before and after that UFC 245 appearance this past December. He’s the M&M guy, who at just 20 years old wouldn’t be old enough to have a drink in Las Vegas, so he settled for some custom candies, instead.

He’s also a UFC Fight Pass news correspondent – famous for acting as if he was Ben Askren’s son and asking Jorge Masvidal why he had to brutalize his dad.

“I just have fun with it,” Hooper told MMA Junkie. “Like, I met the guys from Fight Pass for my last fight right before my debut, and they were super cool, and we kind of became buddies. That’s how I’ve been getting these opportunities; they’re like, ‘Oh, hey, we could do this,’ and then they ask the higher-ups at Fight Pass, and they’re usually like, ‘All right, yeah, let’s do it.’ It’s cool to get the exposure, but it’s not anything more than us just trying to do cool stuff and put cool content out there.

“I’m happy for the opportunity to be able to kind of show my personality off a little more, and it’s definitely crazy to have this much going on already with only one fight in the UFC because it feels like I’ve been here a long time just because of all the stuff I’ve been doing with them.”

Of course, Hooper (9-0-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is also a UFC featherweight prospect, as well. At Saturday’s UFC 250, he’ll step in against Alex Caceres (15-12 MMA, 10-10 UFC), a longtime veteran who made his promotional debut when Hooper was just 11.

Hooper admits he actually didn’t watch many fights in his younger days but is still familiar with Caceres’ work.

“I’ve definitely seen him coming up,” Hooper said. “I wasn’t like a huge fan of watching fights until I really started getting into the fighting part of stuff, when I started doing MMA. But yeah, he was on one of the cards that my coach was on back in the day around 2011, so he’s definitely been in the game for a while.

“As soon as they brought the name up, I immediately recognized it. But yeah, I think that’s what I’m here to do, is to try and fight the best guys and just show how good my skillset is, so it will be a good test against a veteran guy – but he’s also got all the wear and tear from being in the UFC for the past nine, 10 years, that I don’t have coming in at 20. We’ll see how it goes.”

At just 20, Hooper is going to be less experienced than just about any opponent he could possibly face. But “The Teenage Dream” said he really does believe his youth provides a real physical advantage.

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“I don’t think that there’s a way that you can have 20 fights in the UFC and not wake up up stiff every single morning and kind of hating life a little bit,” Hooper said. “Even the training I’ve done, I’ve got a little bit, but I know that one you start getting older, your body’s not recovering as well. I can spar hard every single day of the week if I really wanted to and recover the next day. Obviously I don’t want to do that to my brain, but yeah, I think the recovery of being 20 years old is a key benefit that I have in this fight.”

So Hooper believes he’s got time on his side and is in no rush to charge up the UFC’s featherweight rankings. In the meantime, he believes he can gain valuable experience while also enjoying himself in the process. And if that means some might see him as a gimmick for the time being, that doesn’t really bother him all that much.

“I don’t really care,” Hooper said. “At the end of the day, it’s like, this is a ridiculous job, and I can’t take it too seriously. If people associate me with the Masvidal thing or Ben Askren at first, and that gets my name out there, that’s not a knock on me – that’s me kind of doing the right thing and accepting it. Growing up younger, I came up with the meme culture, I guess. That’s always been a part of my life with the cell phones and the Internet and the memes, and I feel like I can just kind of embrace that stuff, and I think it’s more genuine when I do because if I find it funny, that’s what I want to go with.

“I don’t look like a serious type of guy, so I don’t want to be that guy. That’s not my personality, so I think people would just see right through that, and it would’t go over as well. So I’m just kind of doing my thing and having fun with it, and just really trying to enjoy the time that I have in the UFC. I’ve already done it so far, but the rest of my career, I want to just have a good time and enjoy it. I don’t want to dread every fight or every interview or anything like that. I just want to have fun with it and enjoy myself.”

Picking up another UFC win would certainly provide a little more joy. Hooper believes he can do exactly that on Saturday, and he’ll look to continue his current trajectory.

“It seems like they’re just going to keep putting cards out, so if I can keep getting on those, keep getting good fights, as long as I don’t get hurt or anything, I’m just going to keep it rolling as much as I can and try to build myself in and outside of the octagon,” Hooper said.

UFC 250 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

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UFC 250 prelims pre-event facts: Why isn’t Jussier Formiga higher on card with these stats?

The best facts, figures and footnotes about the UFC 250 prelims, where Alex Caceres meets Chase Hooper in the featured bout.

Before the UFC returns to pay-per-view on Saturday with UFC 250, the event’s preliminary lineup goes down at UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is set to air on ESPN and ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.

The featured prelim bout sees longtime octagon veteran [autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag] (15-12 MMA, 10-10 UFC) take on the youngest fighter on the roster, 20-year-old [autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag] (9-0-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC), in a featherweight affair.

For more on the numbers behind the lineup, check below for 25 pre-facts about the UFC 250 prelims.

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* * * *

Featured ESPN prelim

Alex Caceres

Caceres is 5-4 since he returned to the UFC featherweight division in January 2015.

Caceres has earned seven of his 10 UFC victories by decision.

Caceres is one of seven fighters in UFC/WEC bantamweight history to land 100 or more significant strikes in two different fights.

Hooper, 20, is the youngest of the 24 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.

Other ESPN prelims

Ian Heinisch

[autotag]Ian Heinisch[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) enters the event on the first losing skid of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since May 2019.

[autotag]Gerald Meerschaert[/autotag] (30-12 MMA, 6-4 UFC) has earned 28 of his 30 career victories by stoppage. That includes all six of his UFC wins.

Meerschaert’s five submission victories in UFC middleweight competition are tied with Demian Maia, Rousimar Palhares, Thales Leites and Antonio Carlos Junior for most in divisional history.

Meerschaert is one of 17 fighters in UFC history to earn a submission victory by anaconda choke. He accomplished the feat at UFC Fight Night 102.

[autotag]Cody Stamann[/autotag] (18-2-1 MMA, 4-1-1 UFC) has earned all four of his UFC victories by decision.

[autotag]Brian Kelleher[/autotag] (21-10 MMA, 5-3 UFC) makes his second UFC appearance in a 24-day stretch. He won at UFC on ESPN+ 29 on May 13.

[autotag]Charles Byrd[/autotag] (10-6 MMA, 1-2 UFC) enters the event on the first losing skid of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since March 2018.

ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass prelims

Jussier Formiga

[autotag]Jussier Formiga[/autotag] (23-7 MMA, 9-6 UFC) competes in his 16th UFC flyweight bout, the second most appearances in divisional history behind Joseph Benavidez (17).

Formiga enters the event on the first losing skid of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since March 2019.

Formiga’s nine victories in UFC flyweight competition are third most in divisional history behind Benavidez (13) and Demetrious Johnson (13).

Formiga’s three submission victories in UFC flyweight competition are tied for second most in divisional history behind Johnson (five).

Formiga defends 87.1 percent of all opponent takedown attempts in UFC flyweight competition, the third best rate in divisional history behind Kai Kara-France (90.9 percent) and Ian McCall (90 percent).

[autotag]Alex Perez[/autotag]’s (23-5 MMA, 5-1 UFC) is one of 17 fighters in UFC history to earn a submission victory by anaconda choke. He accomplished the feat at UFC Fight Night 123.

[autotag]Alonzo Menifield[/autotag] (9-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has earned all of his career victories by stoppage. Eight of those wins are by knockout.

[autotag]Devin Clark[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 5-4 UFC) has alternated wins and losses over his past seven fights. He was victorious his most recent bout at UFC on ESPN+ 25 in February.

Clark has earned all five of his UFC victories by decision. He’s suffered all of his losses by stoppage.

Evan Dunham

[autotag]Evan Dunham[/autotag] (18-8-1 MMA, 11-8-1 UFC), 38, is the oldest of the 24 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.

Dunham returns to competition after retiring from MMA following a loss at UFC Fight Night 137 in September 2018.

Dunham’s three-fight winless skid is tied for the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since September 2016.

Dunham has landed 1,225 significant strikes in UFC lightweight competition, the most in divisional history. He also holds the record for most total strikes with 1,587.

Dunham is one of three lightweights in UFC history to land 100+ significant strikes in four separate fights. Justin Gaethje and Tony Ferguson also accomplished the feat.

UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.

UFC 250 lineup finalized: Amanda Nunes vs. Felicia Spencer gets top billing

The UFC’s upcoming pay-per-view event has a finalized card and location.

The UFC’s upcoming pay-per-view event has a finalized card and location.

Wednesday, the Nevada Athletic Commission approved two UFC events for the first time since COVID-19 – UFC on ESPN 9 on Saturday and UFC 250 on June 6, both of which will take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The NAC also unanimously approved COVID-19 protocols for the events, which won’t include the presence of a live audience.

UFC 250 will be headlined by bantamweight and featherweight champion [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] (19-4 MMA, 12-1 UFC), who will make her first 145-pound title defense when she takes on [autotag]Felicia Spencer[/autotag] (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC).

In the co-main event, former UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Cody Garbrandt[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) will look to snap his three-fight skid when he takes on [autotag]Raphael Assuncao[/autotag] (27-7 MMA, 11-3 UFC).

A pivotal 135-pound clash between contenders [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] (18-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) and [autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag] (12-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) will also take place, as well as another showcase bantamweight bout between rising star [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] (11-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) and [autotag]Eddie Wineland[/autotag] (24-13-1 MMA, 6-7 UFC).

The complete UFC 250 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Champ Amanda Nunes vs. Felicia Spencer – for featherweight title
  • Raphael Assuncao vs. Cody Garbrandt
  • Cory Sandhagen vs. Aljamain Sterling
  • [autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Anthony Rocco Martin[/autotag]
  • Sean O’Malley vs. Eddie Wineland

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET)

  • [autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Ian Heinisch[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Gerald Meerschaert[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Brian Kelleher[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Cody Stamann[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Charles Byrd[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Maki Pitolo[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)

  • [autotag]Jussier Formiga[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alex Perez[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Devin Clark[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alonzo Menifield[/autotag]

Chase Hooper vs. Alex Caceres added to UFC 250

Chase Hooper will be making his second octagon appearance against a seasoned veteran in Alex Caceres.

[autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag] soon will make his second octagon appearance.

Hooper (9-0-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) will face [autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag] (15-12 MMA, 10-10 UFC) on June 6 at UFC 250, which is expected to take place at UFC Apex in Las Vegas pending the Nevada Athletic Commission’s approval to resume combat sports.

MMA Junkie confirmed the matchup following an initial report from UFC broadcast partner ESPN.

Undefeated 20-year-old Hooper was awarded a developmental deal on “Dana White’s Contender Series” in 2018 and finally made his UFC debut last December when he stopped Daniel Teymur in the first round.

Caceres, a longtime UFC veteran who appeared on “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2010, has split his last four appearances, most recently picking up a unanimous decision win over Steven Peterson last July.

The latest UFC 250 lineup now includes:

  • Amanda Nunes vs. Felicia Spencer
  • Devin Clark vs. Alonzo Menifield
  • Ian Heinisch vs. Gerald Meerschaert
  • Jussier Formiga vs. Alex Perez
  • Charles Byrd vs. Maki Pitolo
  • Neil Magny vs. Anthony Rocco Martin
  • Cory Sandhagen vs. Aljamain Sterling
  • Sean O’Malley vs. Eddie Wineland
  • Alex Caceres vs. Chase Hooper

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April Fools’ Day 2020: MMA community lightens mood through humor, pranks

April Fools’ Day has become notorious for faux fight announcements, bad fighter pranks, and more.

April Fools’ Day is once again upon us.

If you’re not skeptical of any and all news you read on April 1, you’ll likely fall into a trap. It’s easy to do so.

With the coronavirus situation having most of the world on quarantine, lockdown, or both, the MMA community went a little lighter than past years. However, there were still plenty of “jokes” to go around.

Below, check out some of the MMA community’s best social media posts from April Fools’ Day 2020.

View this post on Instagram

We have a baby! April Fools Day! But no for real we have a baby! @_kydavis started having contractions around midnight, we got to hospital around 4am and Detroit Ryan Davis was born at 9:31am! He is a BIG and healthy boy! 8lbs 10oz. First I want to give props to ANY & ALL mother’s out there! Child Birth is amazing, beautiful, & terrifying all in one! Kylie did amazing and is doing great! Detroit latched on to mommas 🥛 right away.. He has huge hands & feet and favors DK mostly. But has blonde/sandy brown hair! His middle name is for my brother(his uncle) and he was born the same day as Ryan’s first born, Kimora Rhyan Lynn. (Happy Birthday Kimora) We are so blessed and thankful God is good! 👶❤️🙏

A post shared by LC Davis (@lc_davis) on

 

Watch Chase Hooper prank Jorge Masvidal: ‘Why did you do that to my dad?’

Chase Hooper: “My father is Ben Askren.” Jorge Masvidal: “I’m sorry, man.”

[autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag] has us MMA media types shaking in our boots right now. Hopefully, the 20-year-old featherweight phenom is just here to take part and not to take over.

At Thursday’s UFC 246 media day in Las Vegas, Hooper (9-0-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) served as the UFC Fight Pass correspondent.

While numerous comical clips of Hooper interviewing fellow fighters were posted throughout the day, none was more hilarious than his interaction with [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag].

“So I’ve got one question for you,” Hooper said, when interviewing Masvidal. “Why did you do that to my dad?”

“Who’s your dad?” Masvidal asked.

“My father is [autotag]Ben Askren[/autotag],” Hooper replied. “Shoutout.”

At this point in the conversation, Masvidal’s expression totally changes. The “BMF” titleholder is caught off guard.

“I’m sorry, man,” Masvidal said. “I didn’t mean to, bro. That’s really your dad?”

Check out the full video of the hilarious interaction below:

Since his UFC debut in December, Hooper and Askren have poked fun at their resemblance. The recently retired welterweight and the recently debuted featherweight have engaged in numerous playful Twitter exchanges.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

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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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