Chase Hooper expects to ‘break’ Lance Gibson Jr. in homecoming fight at UFC Seattle

Chase Hooper is ecstatic to be fighting at home at UFC Seattle on Saturday.

Hooper is set to take on Lance Gibson Jr. in an intriguing lightweight showdown. After Hooper didn’t get on UFC Seattle last year, he wasn’t sure when he’d get another chance to fight at home. Yet, just a year later, the promotion is returning to Seattle, and Hooper is pumped to be on the card.

“I thought it boded well for them to return with the event selling out as quickly as it did. This is later than I wanted to fight, but the benefits of fighting at home are well worth the wait,” Hooper said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com.

Although Hooper is fighting at home, he is surprised by his opponent. Hooper admits the offer to face Gibson came as a surprise, as he’s 0-1 in the UFC and was fighting locally a few months ago.

“I’ve been in the back for some of his fights, as I’ve had some teammates on the same card,” Hooper added. “I’ve seen him on the local circuit. Kind of surprised the UFC gave us the matchup. This is one of the times the UFC said here’s the matchup, here’s the date, take it or leave it. I’m not leaving the type, so I had to get back in there somehow.

“… There are so many lightweights, but I don’t expect a guy I saw fighting locally a couple months ago to be my next opponent.”

Chase Hooper expects to break Lance Gibson Jr.

Despite being surprised by the opponent, Chase Hooper knows Lance Gibson Jr. is a tough out at UFC Seattle. Yet, Hooper is confident that he won’t just win, but will be able to break Gibson to get the win.

“I feel like the Bobby Green fight, I think, has very clearly been the hardest fight of Lance’s career. They called it a split decision, but not much happened. Lance isn’t super active, and he’s very content with point fighting.

“Just use my length. I’m the veteran here in the matchup. I think I have more UFC fights than he has pro fights. I’ve been doing this for a while, and I think I can break him with the pace and pressure, and I’m feeling pretty good about the matchup overall.”

If Hooper gets his hand raised at UFC Seattle, he knows he won’t be getting a ranked opponent. But the hope is to fight at International Fight Week and start gaining some momentum back after his last loss.

“It just helps me get some momentum back. I was on a five-fight winning streak and lost the last one,” Hooper concluded. “It will give me some momentum back, and maybe see if the UFC wants to get me on the International Fight Week card as I want to get one in before summer.”

Do you think Chase Hooper will beat Lance Gibson Jr. at UFC Seattle?