By Safeer MS
Chase Hooper was signed by the UFC as a youngster on a developmental contract when he was just 18 years old. Hooper made his UFC debut in style with a TKO victory over David Teymur at UFC 245. However, he lost his next fight to Alex Caceres and eventually went 3-3 at featherweight before he moved up to lightweight. In his new division, Hooper has shown an impressive skillset, and his recent victory at St. Louis is a testament to it.
At UFC St. Louis, Hooper submitted Viacheslav Borshchev in the second round. He significantly out landed the credentialled Russian kickboxer in strikes. Even though Hooper won the fight via submission, his striking against Borshchev drew eyeballs. Everybody knew Hooper would win a grappling contest against Borhchev. But what surprised them was the significant improvement in his striking. Hooper had showcased his high-level grappling in his previous fight against Jordan Leavitt. Now, the striking improvements have sent a stern message.
Borshchev was the betting favourite and the fight and was not expected to lose devastatingly. After he had an impressive kickboxing career. It remains to be seen whether the Russian had an injury going into the fight or had a terrible weight cut. Not trying to take the win away from the American fighter, but something went wrong for the Russian fighter. There is also a possibility that Hooper might be that good and is a serious threat at lightweight.
What should be next for Chase Hooper?
When Chase Hooper fought at featherweight, he looked very skinny. However, against Viacheslav Borshchev, Hooper looked like a good-sized lightweight. Nonetheless, Hooper is only 24 years old. There is always room for growth and he is not close to his athletic prime. Therefore, he should not be fighting ranked contenders now. His priority now should be to fight an unranked well-rounded fighter next. Afterward, he should target a fighter in the 12-15 range of the lightweight rankings.
If victorious in his next fight, Hooper should fight a striker like Bobby Green or Dan Hooker to get into the rankings. Getting into the rankings is easy but staying there is an entirely different ball game. If Beneil Dariush is still in the top 10 of lightweight, Hooper should fight the Iranian-American in his first fight as a ranked contender. If he had improved to such a level by the time, a number-one contender would definitely be next.
