Barely out of his teens, Chase Hooper now has his first win in the octagon following a TKO victory against Daniel Teymur at UFC 245.
Daniel Teymur was looking to make it two wins in a row inside the octagon when he welcomed Chase Hooper to the UFC Saturday night. The featured early prelim, Teymur vs. Hooper marked the first official UFC bout for Chase, who appeared on the Contender Series as a teenager in 2018. Now twenty, Hooper was looking to make a strong first impression on one of the biggest cards of the year, UFC 245.
He may have been barely out of his teens, but Hooper looked calm under fire Saturday. Immediately, he looked to take Daniel Teymur to the ground. But it was Teymur locking in with a nasty looking anaconda choke, seemingly trapping Hooper. Hooper, somehow, managed to survive. Moments later, he’d pull guard, and latch on to Teymur’s arm. While Teymur would pull free, there was a lesson there: Hooper was very comfortable on his back.
Not so much on the feet. A huge right hand connected for Teymur, and out of desperation Hooper closed the distance. Moments later he’d take his opponent’s back while still standing.
Scaling Teymur like a tree, Hooper was able to land punches before finally dragging Teymur down. Mounted from the back, hooks in, Hooper added more punches, with a full two minutes remaining in the round. The rear-naked choke was locked in in short order, and more than once it looked like Teymur might tap.
A fresh shade of purple blossomed across Teymur’s face, but somehow he pulled free. Hooper transitioned to the top, in mount, dropping elbows. Teymur turned, rolled, but wound up back in that same uncomfortable spot, with Chase Hooper dropping elbows. Soon enough, the ref called it off, and young chase Hooper had embarked on his UFC journey with a win.
Official Result: Chase Hooper def. Daniel Teymur by TKO, Round 1, 4:34