Chase Hooper is only 20 years old and he’s already winning fights at the highest level.
The bay-faced Washington state youngster made his long-awaited promotional debut at UFC 245 on Saturday night, pounding out Daniel Teymur en route to a TKO victory at 4:34 of Round 1.
In order to achieve victory, Hooper (9-0-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) had to survive early adversity. In the opening minute, Teymur (7-3 MMA, 1-4 UFC) grabbed a hold of Hooper’s neck. A front choke looked deep, but Hooper was able to escape.
Soon thereafter, Hooper ate a huge punch from Teymur. Once again, Hooper persevered – this time, getting control of Teymur’s back on the ground. After Teymur broke free of a rear-naked choke attempt, Hooper gained mount.
From there, Hooper obtained the mounted triangle position and began raining down elbows on the Swede. Eventually, referee Jason Herzog had seen enough and waved off the contest.
UFC 245 was Hooper’s first opportunity to prove himself in the big leagues after earning a UFC development deal on “Dana White’s Contender Series” in 2018.
In July 2018, Hooper beat Hawaii’s Canaan Kawaihae at DWCS 14, then returned to the regional scene. In the months that followed, Hooper competed for CFFC, Island Fights and Titan FC. Over that stretch, he went 2-0-1 with a submission and a ground-and-pound TKO stoppage.
UFC 245 took place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
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