Middleweight Chase Hooper on fighting at Featherweight: ‘I was murdering myself’

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA — The Lightweight “Chase Hooper Era” is here.

Hooper picked up a big win at UFC Vegas 73 last night (Sat., May 20, 2023), defeating Nick Fiore inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. After 10 fights at Featherweight, “The Dream” successfully moved up in weight to Lightweight and looked phenomenal in his best Octagon performance to date.

In his last few fights, Hooper hinted that he was cutting a lot of weight to make the 145-pound weight class. However, during his post-fight interview with the media, he finally revealed how much he was cutting, which was a ton.

“I was probably walking around at like 185, which, I mean, I was still making [the weight], but the issue is my body would stop with the diet,” Hooper told MMAmania.com. “My body would stop losing weight at about 170, 175. So, I had to switch the last couple of weeks in my fight camps to protein shakes only.

“Protein shakes, and then I would have little packets of honey before training,” Hooper continued. “So, I was murdering myself, trying to get down to 145. And I had to be vegetarian that whole time, too. I was really restricting myself in and out of fight camp, just trying to fight puberty and stay at 145. I think at the end [I was] doing more harm than good. But, I feel great at 155 now.”

Cutting 40 pounds could not have been good for Hooper, but he doesn’t regret it because it was an “experience.” The 23-year-old may look like a skinny stick figure, but he carries a lot of weight and is starting grow into his frame.

As for what’s next, he plans to take the summer off and return in the fall and hopes to fight another Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist.

For complete UFC Vegas 73 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.