Two MMA fighters representing the PNW took to the cage at UFC 256 as Chase “the Dream” Hooper and Sam “Sampage” Hughes kicked off the undercard as the first two fights of the night.
Chase Hooper Submits Peter Barrett via Heel Hook
Chase Hooper, an Enumclaw, Washington native, built his MMA reputation in Washington state as his first five professional fights took place at local regional promotions. Hooper, who has a good frame for the 145 lb division, standing 6’1 and with a 75.5” reach, started his MMA career with an 8-0-1 record prior to being the youngest athlete to ever sign with the UFC. Hooper won his first UFC bout at UFC 245 via first round TKO stoppage of Daniel Teymur. Stepping up in class against Alex “Bruce Leroy” Caceres at UFC 250, Hooper lost his first professional MMA fight via unanimous decision.
At UFC 256, Hooper was matched against Peter “Slippery Pete” Barrett. Early in the first round, Barrett found some success stuffing Hooper’s initial takedown attempt and landing a flush counter right hand. With Barrett throwing heavy shots early, Hooper utilized his length by attacking with some nice kicks. Barrett very likely won the first round as he landed the harder shots and defended Hooper’s takedown attempts well.
In the second round, Hooper landed a big left hand in the first minute of the round. Shortly after, Barrett put Hooper in some trouble with a nasty leg kick. After both fighters landed punches nearly simultaneously, Barrett slammed Hooper with another leg kick and it appeared Hooper was in big trouble as it seemed he couldn’t put any weight on his right leg. Unsurprisingly, Hooper quickly shot for a takedown and when it wasn’t there rolled to guard, but Barrett backed off and decided to keep the fight on the feet rather than pursue Hooper on the ground. Late in the round, Hooper executed a roll and was able to tangle legs with Barrett but Barrett was able to get untangled and take the fight back to the feet. Barrett landed a nice right hook as the round came to a close.
With Barrett winning the first two rounds, Hooper would need to come up with a finish in the third round and he did not disappoint his fans. Hooper started the third round with a nice left high kick that found its mark. Midway through the round Hooper executed an Imanari roll and was able to land some nasty punches on Barrett as Hooper had Barrett tied up with his right leg in trouble. Hooper patiently, but slowly worked his way into position before earning the heel hook submission victory over a clearly disappointed Barrett. It was an outstanding comeback victory for Hooper. Papa Askren had to be proud!
Tecia Torres Defeats Sam Hughes via TKO Doctor Stoppage
Sam Hughes was the other MMA fighter representing the PNW at UFC 256. Hughes fights out of Everett, Washington. Hughes was making her UFC debut and entered the bout with a 5-1 record. While taking advantage of a short notice opportunity, Hughes was nonetheless thrown to the wolves as her debut came against UFC veteran Tecia “the Tiny Tornado” Torres. Torres, the #10 ranked Women’s Strawweight, is a 13-fight veteran of the UFC and entered the bout with a pro record of 11-5.
Torres started the fight well as she was aggressive and appeared to land some hard, clean shots early. Hughes smartly blunted Torres’ early momentum by controlling Torres against the cage in the clinch. After about a minute of control time by Hughes, Torres was able to fight off the clinch and break the position. Torres then went to work with her striking landing several hard kicks as well as a nifty superman punch. Torres continued to keep the pressure on throughout the round as she displayed her impressive speed. Late in the round, Torres ducked under a jab by Hughes and in a flash had Hughes up in the air for a slam takedown.
Hughes unfortunately wasn’t able to see out of her left eye prior to the start of the second round and the fight was stopped as a TKO due to injury. Hopefully in her next bout Hughes will be matched against another promotional newcomer as she works her way back.