Chase Hooper walked into Paycom Center on Saturday night carrying a two-fight knockout losing streak and a missed weight on the scale. He walked out with a rear-naked choke win and a paycheck he says is earmarked for a baby on the way.
Hooper (17-5-1 MMA, 9-5 UFC) submitted Mitch Ramirez (8-4 MMA, 0-3 UFC) at the 2:15 mark of the first round at UFC Fight Night 281 in Oklahoma City, rebounding from back-to-back KO losses that had stalled the momentum of a five-fight win streak he’d built before the slide.
The weight miss converted the bout to a catchweight, and Hooper did not apologize for it afterward. What he did do was close the distance fast, plant Ramirez on the mat, and go to work. Ramirez tried to scramble and reverse position, but Hooper — a grappler whose ground game has always been the sharpest tool in his shed — transitioned to the back and sank in the choke. A brief stretch of hand fighting ended when Ramirez tapped.
In his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier, Hooper made clear where his head was.
“It feels great. I told my wife, ‘I’m not losing three in a row, that sh*t ain’t happening,'” Hooper said. “My two checks is going to help out with that new baby.”
His wife is pregnant, and Hooper said he was excited about the impending birth. The “two checks” — his show and win purses, presumably minus whatever penalty the weight miss carried — were already spoken for.
For Ramirez, the loss drops him to 0-3 inside the UFC and deepens the hole he’s in. Three fights, three losses, and now a first-round submission on a card where he needed something to go right. The film doesn’t lie: he got taken down, he got his back taken, and he got finished inside three minutes. That’s a tough film session.
For Hooper, the win is his ninth in the UFC and snaps the worst stretch of his promotional career. The 26-year-old had been trending upward before the two knockout losses — five straight wins, growing confidence, the kind of roll that makes you think a fighter’s turning a corner. Then the corner turned on him. Saturday was about proving the skid was a dip, not a drop.
He proved it the way he always has: on the ground. Hooper’s striking has improved over the years, but his bread is still the mat. Give him a takedown window and he’ll find the finish. Ramirez gave him the window, and Hooper walked right through it.
The card aired live on Paramount+ from the Paycom Center.
Sources:
- UFC Oklahoma Highlights! Chase Hooper Slices Through Mitch Ramirez With Early Choke — Yahoo Sports / MMA Junkie
- UFC OKC video: Chase Hooper taps Mitch Ramirez after missing weight — Yahoo Sports / MMA Junkie