Chase Hooper is absolutely thrilled about the opportunity to compete at his home UFC event in Seattle this Saturday. He is set to face Lance Gibson Jr. in an anticipated lightweight bout. After missing last year’s Seattle event, Hooper wasn’t sure when he’d get another chance to fight in front of his hometown crowd. However, just a year later, the promotion is returning to the city, and Hooper is full of enthusiasm to be part of the card.
“I thought their return was a good sign, considering how quickly tickets for the last event sold out. This fight is happening later than I wanted, but the advantages of fighting at home are definitely worth the wait,” Hooper shared.
Despite fighting at home, the choice of opponent came as a surprise to Hooper. He admitted that the offer to fight Gibson was unexpected, as Gibson holds a 0-1 record in the UFC and was competing on the local circuit just a few months ago.
“I’ve been backstage for some of his fights, as I’ve had teammates on the same cards,” Hooper added. “I’ve seen him on the local scene. I was a bit surprised that the UFC offered us this matchup. It was one of those times where the UFC just said, ‘Here’s the opponent, here’s the date, take it or leave it.’ I wasn’t going to miss this chance, so I had to get back into the Octagon. There are so many lightweights, but I never expected a guy I saw at local tournaments a couple of months ago to be my next opponent.”
Chase Hooper Aims to ‘Break’ Lance Gibson Jr.
Despite the surprise opponent, Chase Hooper acknowledges that Lance Gibson Jr. is a tough competitor at UFC Seattle. Nevertheless, Hooper is confident that he will not only win but will be able to “break” Gibson to secure a decisive victory.
“I feel like the Bobby Green fight was, without a doubt, the toughest of Lance’s career. It was called a split decision, but not much happened. Lance isn’t very active and is quite content with a ‘point-fighting’ approach. I’ll simply utilize my reach. I’m the veteran in this matchup. I believe I have more UFC fights than he has professional fights in total. I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I think I can break him with pace and pressure, and overall, I feel very good about this matchup.”
If Hooper gets his hand raised at UFC Seattle, he understands that he won’t be immediately getting a ranked opponent. However, he hopes to compete at International Fight Week and regain momentum after his last loss.
“This will simply help me regain momentum. I was on a five-fight winning streak but lost the last one,” Hooper concluded. “This will bring my pace back, and perhaps I’ll see if the UFC wants to include me on the International Fight Week card, as I want to get another fight in before summer.”