Athletes
Chase Hooper Is Not Done Evolving
Chase Hooper Looks To Continue His Winning Streak And Make A Case For The Rankings As He Faces Alexander Hernandez At UFC 319: Du Plessis vs Chimaev
Chase Hooper is a man on fire as he looks to continue his impressive winning streak.
Ever since making the move up to lightweight, Hooper has shown there are levels to his game, agame that shows him evolving from a ground specialist to an overall mixed martial artist that has seen him put together five straight victories.
With three of his last five wins coming by submission, Hooper has shown that his game can translate to the higher weight classes. Wins over Jordan Leavitt, Viacheslav Borshchev and Clay Guida have solidified Hooper as a real threat in this division.
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Hooper will aim to use his submission threats as he looks to continue his ascent through thelightweight division. When compared to other 155-pounders, Hooper makes his case as a potential threat. Among all-time lightweights, Hooper ranks 2nd in striking differential, 9th in strikes absorbed per minute, 8th in control time percentage, 7th in top position percentage and 4thin significant strike accuracy.
Coming into the UFC as a featherweight, Hooper faced his share of challenges that saw him with a 3-3 record through his first six fights. It must be noted that Hooper is only 25 years old and started his UFC journey at 20 years old. With someone so young in this fight game, there is always room for improvement, and Hooper has shown all those changes.
The biggest worry was that Hooper was so reliant on his submission game that he lacked proper standup, but he dismissed those claims. In his latest bout, Hooper delivered by leading the striking exchanges. Hooper landed almost double the significant strikes against Jim Miller withmost coming from distance. This is the biggest change shown from Hooper compared to previous fights, where he would rely on getting the fight to the ground for most of his significant strikes. The only other fight that Hooper showed this was in his first fight at lightweight against Nick Fiore, where he had almost 100 significant strikes from distance.
Many grapplers and submission artists find their significant strikes via the ground after a takedown, and Hooper was the same way while at featherweight, but at lightweight, he is a different animal. The reliance on the ground game and the importance on improving his striking has been a revelation for Hooper, as he already is looking at a total 8-3 record in the UFC.
Hooper already has two Performance of the Night bonuses and looks to add to that number when he meets Hernandez, who has quietly put two wins together.
Order UFC 319: Du Plessis vs Chimaev
Hooper is in an interesting spot when looking at this bout, because if he can implement his game plan, then it can go very sour for Hernandez quickly. The biggest tell for this fight will be how Hooper reacts to the power of Hernandez. Lightweight is stacked with power punchers, and if Hooper continues to be successful, he will start to get matched up with some of the best strikers the UFC has to offer.
The lightweight division is no joke, but Hooper can start to stake his claim for the rankings potentially as soon as next fight, and if Hooper finishes Hernandez, the sky is the limit.
UFC 319: Du Plessis vs Chimaev took place live from United Center in Chicago, Illinois on August 16, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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