Let’s take a look at what could be next for Allen, along with the other standout winners on the night.

Brendan Allen

“All In” Allen’s last loss was back in 2021, and you’d have to go back six fights to get there. The 27-year-old has put on an incredibly impressive streak of performances, scoring a rear-naked-choke win in four of his last four fights, tying the longest active submission record.

There is no doubt that since that loss to Chris Curtis two years ago, the Louisiana product has improved leaps and bounds, and now finds himself ranked in the top 10 at 185lbs, above the aforementioned “Action Man”.

Allen is now in a position where he is knocking on the door of the top five, in a division that has seemingly been screaming out for new title contenders for the past few years. The submission artist has already shared the cage with the current champion, Sean Strickland, in which he was finished, but that was going back to 2020. Strickland will defend his title against Dricus Du Plessis, who you could say would be a favourable matchup for Allen and his grappling upside.

With the rest of the top five already being booked into fights, there is one name that stands out more than most for me, and that is, Marvin Vettori.

The Italian is seemingly struggling to find a fight and this one makes perfect sense. He is coming off a loss to Jared Cannonier and needs to defend his ranking.

Allen’s Next Fight: Marvin Vettori 

Michael Morales

When thinking of the most impressive prospects in the UFC, Michael Morales must be a name that comes very close to the top of the list.

The 24-year-old now boasts a professional record of 16-0, with four of those coming under the UFC banner. Jake Matthews proved to be his toughest outing thus far, but the Ecuadorian showed a different side to his style, and proved to be the better fighter over a technical three rounds.

That is now back-to-back wins over fighters with 15 or more UFC fights, providing the youngster with integral experience.

Despite being just 24-years-old, it seems as though Morales is ready for the next step in his UFC tenure. There are several fighters inside the top 15 who make sense for him moving forward.

Of course, when talking about welterweight prospects who are nearing the rankings, Neil Magny’s ears must run hot. “The Haitian Sensation” is already booked to fight Canadian prospect, Mike Malott though.

The occupant of rank 15 though, is someone Morales has been slated to fight previously but due to injury, he had to withdraw from the scheduled bout. Rinat Fakhretdinov could make a lot of sense again now, being as though he sits upon a ranking that Michael Morales could be coming for.

Morales’ Next Fight: Rinat Fakhretdinov  

Chase Hooper

“The Dream” Chase Hooper marked his second lightweight outing with another extremely impressive performance. In this one, he had to face some early adversity when he was rocked with some heavy Leavitt ground-and-pound. From there though, he was able to win the grappling exchanges, subsequently getting the first round sub.

Before the fight, Hooper told Cageside Press, that he wanted to enter the unofficial ‘best grappler in the lightweight division rankings’ and with the rear-naked-choke, he may have done exactly that.

With him looking increasingly more comfortable with each 155lb outing, the 24-year-old will likely want to take a little bit of time off as he and his wife expect a baby.

With that being Hooper’s 8th UFC fight despite only being 24-years-old, there is no reason to try and rush him up the rankings of the lightweight division.

Someone who I think could be a fun next matchup for Hooper, is Lando Vannata. Despite his recent skid, the losses have come to some of the higher echelon fighters in the division.

Hooper’s Next Fight: Lando Vannata

Payton Talbott

After a highly impressive performance on the Contender Series earlier this year, Talbott came into his UFC debut with a lot of eyes on him.

The 25-year-old didn’t disappoint as he put on another emphatic performance, submitting Nick Aguirre in the final round. It is going to very interesting to see Talbott’s UFC career unfold.

Selfishly I would love to see a fight between Payton Talbott and Da’Mon Blackshear, however that’s quite farfetched for Talbott’s second UFC outing. A fight that would be more realistic would be, Dan Argueta.

Talbott’s Next Fight: Dan Argueta

Amanda Ribas

The Brazilian striker bounced back from her loss to Maycee Barber, with a great third round KO over Luana Pinheiro, in her strawweight return.

Once again Ribas showed a full arsenal of striking, and began her final finishing sequence with a picture perfect spinning wheel kick, which wobbled and subsequently dropped Pinheiro.

With Ribas hoping for a resurgence at strawweight, there is female who is on her rise up the rankings, and sits just one spot behind Ribas. That is Loopy Godinez who has continued impressing. That is a fight I could see next.

Ribas’ Next Fight: Loopy Godinez

Myktybek Oralbai

Marking his UFC debut with a second round finish was, Myktybek Oralbai. The Kirghiz native had a slow round one against the powerful, Uros Medic, but was able to capitalise with his grappling advantage in round two.

There are plenty options for the 25-year-old, but one I’m keen on is, Ange Loosa.

Oralbai’s Next Fight: Ange Loosa

The post What’s Next: UFC Vegas 82 Winners appeared first on Cageside Press.

It didn’t disappoint, and played out, as expected, mostly on the mat.

Chase Hooper ate a nasty ground strike from Jordan Leavitt in the opening round of their lightweight fight, with Leavitt proving he was able to leave his nice guy persona at the cage door and really look to hurt the youngster. But Hooper, with solid Fight IQ for someone so young, took advantage of a scramble and flowed right into a rear-naked choke. With the body triangle in place and fully under the chin, Hooper had the submission locked up, and he knew it. Leavitt knew it as well, and had no choice but to tap!

The win is the second straight for 24-year old Chase Hooper, after picking up a unanimous decision over Nick Fiore earlier this year. After trading wins and losses through the entirety of his featherweight run in the UFC, it seems “The Dream” has found himself at 155lbs.

Official Result: Chase Hooper def. Jordan Leavitt by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 2:58

The post UFC Vegas 82: Chase Hooper Lands Slick Sub on Jordan Leavitt, Notches Second Straight Win appeared first on Cageside Press.

The 24-year-old made the decision to move up a weight class for his last fight, where he picked up a dominant decision victory over Nick Fiore back in May.

“The Dream” spoke to Cageside Press about why he made that decision to move up to 155lbs.

“Honestly, I’ve been fighting puberty this whole time. The weights been going up every single time. I remember my Contender Series fight, I think I was walking around at 165lbs so I was 20lbs out from the featherweight limit.

“The weight just kept going up and then I started walking around at closer to 185lbs and cutting 40lbs to make weight is not super sustainable and my body stopped wanting to lose that weight.

“I knew for my last featherweight fight, I don’t want to cut this anymore, I can barely do it now and I feel like the amount that I was putting my body through was too hard to try and recoup and recover from.”

Hooper stands at 6’1″ tall so is by no means undersized at 155lbs, and will in fact have a four inch height advantage over his upcoming opponent, Jordan Leavitt.

“The Monkey King” is coming in off an impressive first round finish over Victor Martinez back in February.

When the fight was announced, Hooper admitted that it was a matchup he’s had his eye on for a while, and he gave his opinion on Leavitt as a fighter and personality.

“It’s just a stylistic matchup, there’s so many wrestlers and so many great strikers in the UFC, but there’s not many great Jiu-Jitsu based grapplers. I mean Jordan started more on the wrestling side but he’s definitely got that 10th planet kind of weird no gi tinge to his grappling.

“He’s fought some high level guys, he’s fought Paddy, he’s fought Claudio Puelles, they’re pretty high level grapplers. I just want to test my grappling against a guy that’s been in there with some other great grapplers.

“I would like to work my way up the unofficial best jiu-jitsu guy at lightweight rankings.”

Watch our full interview with UFC Vegas 82’s Chase Hooper above.

The post UFC Vegas 82: Chase Hooper Looking to Enter Unofficial ‘Best Jiu-jitsu Guy at Lightweight’ Rankings appeared first on Cageside Press.

Hooper entered the preliminary card fight off a loss to Steve Garcia back in October, while Fiore, a New England Cartel member, came in search of his first win in the promotion after dropping his debut.

Of note, this marked Hooper’s first fight at his new weight class of 155lbs.

To begin the fight, the two traded punches but that was quickly halted as Hooper grabbed the body of Fiore and subsequently tried to get his grappling going. Hooper gave up his body lock and opted to try and secure another calf-slicer, but Fiore was wise to it. Again Hooper tried to secure a takedown with an outside trip, but Fiore reversed it and finished in top position, looking to get his own grappling going. With the two getting back to their feet, it meant for more striking and sloppy striking at that. Hooper began to try and use his length throwing a few front kicks up the middle, but Fiore was able to evade them. The 23-year-old began letting his hands go and landing around Fiore’s guard, but couldn’t land anything of note. With just 10 seconds left of round one, Fiore looked to be extremely compromised and Hooper read the situation and began putting on a barrage of strikes. Herzog looked at the situation closely, but let Fiore make it into the second round.

Hooper looked to start round two as he finished the first and met Fiore in the middle of the Octagon throwing hands straightaway. Despite that, Hooper looked for another front kick up the middle, but it was caught by Fiore and he secured a takedown and transitioned straight to full mount. The two made it back to the feet where Fiore looked to be extremely fatigued and uncomfortable in the striking exchanges. Hooper began to empty the tank once again but his strikes were landing with little power. Blood began to pour out of the nose of Fiore as Hooper pressed him against the fence looking for some strikes in the clinch. Again, Hooper began to let his striking go whilst in the centre of the Octagon, and with every punch landed, Fiore looked increasingly uncomfortable.

To begin round three, Hooper looked the far fresher of the two with Fiore looking to capitalise straightaway again on a Hooper mistake. Despite finding himself on his back, Hooper looked to stay active with submission attempts, subsequently getting back to his feet. Once the two made it back to their feet, Hooper began to once again land with his punches as Fiore looked extremely fatigued. Hooper’s relentless output of striking didn’t allow Fiore to throw anything of his own and allowed Hooper to just take control of this fight. The fight culminated with Chase Hooper throwing strikes whilst Fiore gave up his back, stamping Hooper’s dominance in his lightweight debut.

Official Result: Chase Hooper def. Nick Fiore via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27) 

The post UFC Vegas 73: Chase Hooper Puts A Stamp On His Lightweight Debut, Bests Nick Fiore appeared first on Cageside Press.

Hooper entered the night off a TKO victory over Felipe Colares that had landed him a Performance of the Night bonus back in May. Garcia for his part was looking to bounce back from a loss to Hayisaer Maheshate in June.

As always, Hooper’s game-plan was to get the fight to the ground, and early on he had no choice as he was rocked with a big right hand from Garcia.

Hooper couldn’t complete the takedown, however, and found himself back on the feet, only to get dropped again by another right hook. Hooper got back to his feet and Garcia completed his hat-trick of knockdowns. Three knockdowns within the space of 45 seconds.

Despite being wobbled, Hooper made it back to his feet, but it might’ve been better to stay down, as when he got to his feet again, he was dropped for a fourth and final time. Herb Dean had seen enough and waved off the first round domination.

Look out featherweights – @MeanMachine505 is 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄!! #UFCVegas63 pic.twitter.com/dcolUOD2vs

— UFC (@ufc) October 29, 2022

Garcia came into the bout as a +250 underdog, and completely spoiled the 23-year-old’s party.

Official Result: Steve Garcia def. Chase Hooper by TKO, Round 1, 1:32

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It seemed like a must-win fight for the 22-year-old Hooper, who was coming off a lopsided loss to Steven Peterson. Hooper showed up and showed out at the Apex, however, TKOing Corales in the third round.

Hooper (11-2-1) was violent and felt perfect going into his fight.

“Well, everything I’ve done for this fight camp, I’ve been like, ‘if this were to be my last fight ever, I want to do everything perfect.’ That was flying across the country to go train with Wonderboy twice this camp. You know, it’s getting those striking looks, getting the wrestling looks, really pushing the pace in the gym with my guys at Combat Sport and Fitness. Using the UFC PI for the dieting and just everything like just locked into place perfectly tonight,” Hooper told Cageside Press during his post-fight interview.  “My hand wraps felt perfect. [Brad] Tate wasn’t supposed to be on the list for people to wrap hands… Tate walks in, I’m like, ‘Oh, this is a good night. I love it.’ When he wraps my hands, he does a great job. The weight cut went easier than expected. The dieting went easier than expected. I felt fantastic in the warm-up.”

“Everything really locked in for me tonight. And, you know, it’s just hoping that happens every time and just knowing that even if it doesn’t, I still have this skill set. But that stuff just kind of further builds your confidence and your ability that things are moving in the right direction and to just kind of keep pressing forward. And that’s all I did. Just keep taking that step forward each time.”

Hooper handed Corales his second straight loss and became the first person to finish the Brazilian fighter. It was a good feeling, he shared.

“It’s always good, not even necessarily just to finish. It’s always nice to finish a guy that’s never been finished and to be able to attain that myself, but to be able to say that I have grappled against a really high-level Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, and I was able to win those exchanges,” Hooper said. “To feel like I was able to hang with him in the grappling really builds a lot of confidence when you’re from a small town Enumclaw, Washington. You know, not from some mega gym, I started with the same coach at eight that I’m here with today. So it feels good.”

UFC Vegas 55 was Hooper’s first time fighting on a UFC Fight Night. His past four fights have all been held on pay-per-view. That didn’t faze “The Dream” he doesn’t care where he fights on the card or if it’s a big PPV.

“I really liked these UFC Apex shows. They’re so mellow, you know, being one of the first flights too, I could care less. The nice thing is with these fight nights, it gives you a better chance for a bonus. I try not to put too much stock into it,” Hooper said. “I’m just taking the fights as they come. I’d fight if there were 100,000 people watching, I’d fight if there were 100 people watching, I’d fight if it was just Dana [White] watching. I just feel like I’m kind of leveling up in the mental aspect of it. And, you know, not letting that stuff bother me too much.”

Hooper was right; there was a better chance of him getting a bonus, as he ended up getting a Performance of the Night.

Watch the rest of Chase Hooper’s post-fight media appearance above. More coverage from the event can be found below.

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The welterweight co-main event between #14-ranked Santiago Ponzinibbio and Michel Pereira, himself looking to break into the rankings, lived up to expectations and then some. With less flash than usual perhaps, Pereira nonetheless showed ample heart and a solid chin, going toe-to-toe with Ponzinibbio through three rounds.

Early on, Argentina’s Ponzinibbio appeared to be swinging for the fences, which allowed Pereira to get out to an early lead. “Demolidor” rocked his opponent towards the end of the first, but Ponzinibbio regained his composure, and by the third round, was turning up the heat. Pereira, game to the end, won the split decision — and with five straight wins should finally crack the top 15.

The pair will share in the Fight of the Night at UFC Vegas 55, pocketing an extra $50,000 a piece. Performance of the Night bonuses, meanwhile, went to Chase Hooper and Chidi Njokuani.

Chidi “Bang Bang” lived up to his nickname, crushing Dusko Todorovic with a standing elbow in the clinch in the opening round of their middleweight fight. It took Chase Hooper until the third round to put away his own opponent, Flipe Colares, but he found the finish as well. The 22-year old featherweight was fluid in his transitions, absolutely dominating on the ground before finishing the fight with ground n’ pound.

The post UFC Vegas 55: Michel Pereira-Santiago Ponzinibbio Thriller Claims Fight of the Night appeared first on Cageside Press.

The featherweight match-up was second in on the Fight Night event’s preliminary card — though Hooper had told Cageside Press earlier this month that his 145 pound days might be numbered.

There was very little surprise at seeing Hooper tie the fight up early. And while Hooper couldn’t get the fight down immediately, he did land a punch off the break. Hooper later caught a kick and did get the fight down, but he wound up giving up the position, with Colares getting on top. Colares then landed some heavy hammer fists, but Hooper scrambled, only to have the ref take away the position for grabbing the fence.

Restarting on the feet, they didn’t stay there long, but Hooper wound up on bottom. He  then scrambled, got on top, and transitioned the the back. Smooth as silk. Hooper would roll, and slip right around Colares as he did, staying on top the entire time. Slick, but Colares would work his way up — after eating some decent shots from Hooper.

It didn’t take Hooper long to hook a leg and get the fight down again however. And in half-guard, “The Dream” began to drop elbows. The opened up a choke attempt, and though Colares survived, Hooper lit him up on the feet to close out the round!

What an end to round 1 for @Chase_Hooper 👊 #UFCVegas55 pic.twitter.com/JBN9CfsJow

— UFC (@ufc) May 21, 2022

The pair were back on the ground inside of a minute in round two, with Hooper working off his back. Chase attacked a leg after starting the round swinging, which opened up the avenue for the takedown. Colares got up, and Hooper was right on him. Hooper finally just pulled Colares down on top of him, holding on with a body lock. Colares moved to side control, and Hooper just slid out from under him — though he ate a few hammer fists in the process. Hooper’s continued scrambles were dizzying, but Colares managed to catch him in a crucifix. Yet even that led to Hooper using the fence to flip himself over Colares. He wound up attacking a kneebar, and got to mount, flattening Colares out.

In the third, the ground game continued. Colares tried to trap Hooper in a headlock, but let’s be honest, that was never going to work. The young featherweight was fluid, his transitions like water, and he was soon on top, dropping ground n’ pound. With three minutes left, Hooper got in mount. Colares gave up his back, and Hooper kept landing punches. Hooper then got under the neck; Colares fought the hands. Hooper landed several punches while he did so, and kept the pressure on. Colares was covering up, and the ref called it!

22-year old Chase Hooper is now 3-2 in the UFC, with all three wins coming inside the distance.

Official Result: Chase Hooper def. Felipe Colares by TKO (ground n’ pound), Round 3, 3:00

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Hooper (10-2) returns for his fifth UFC fight this weekend at UFC Vegas 55. He faces Felipe Colares, who is moving up from the bantamweight division.

The 22-year-old fighter from Washington also thinks a move up a division could happen sooner rather than later.

“Probably with the way that the way my cuts are going, you know, not wanting to destroy my body, just trying to make the weight. There’s really no reason for it,” Hooper told Cageside Press in an exclusive interview. “Like, back then, I wasn’t the proper size for 155. But now I think I’m getting up there. So we’ll see how this one goes. Obviously, I’m still able to perform really well, but it’s just I’m cutting a lot of muscle that I don’t need to. And, and I think if I moved up a division, I’d be able to be in better shape and healthier overall, and be able to train harder in the lead up to the fight.”

Hooper started his professional career as a lightweight and fought at that weight four times, even winning the Combat Games Lightweight Championship. He has now fought at featherweight eight times since his original fight on Dana White’s Contender Series. He feels like he grew into the featherweight division, and now he has grown out of it. Especially because of the weight he cuts.

“It’s a decent bit, probably from like, 180 lbs which is, you know, it’s kind of weird. I grew into the weight class, and then I grew out of the weight class a little bit. So it’s a fair bit of dieting that I have to do to get down there. But yeah, like my contender fight, I think I cut from the low 150s. That’s kind of where I was walking around, and I cut water from there,” Hooper said. So with puberty setting in and it’s a whole can of worms now. Hence the reason why I need some time between fights and why I’m not taking any short notice or anything. And, yeah, is what it is.”

“The Dream” is looking to get back into the win column after almost a year layoff. He has been crosstraining with Stephen Thompson and feels like he has grown a lot since his loss at UFC 263.

He doesn’t feel like has a chip on his shoulder, however, because “I feel like I’ve kind of always had that a little bit, but it’s just [something] I’m not really trying to focus on.”

Chase Hooper faces Felipe Colares this weekend at UFC Vegas 55. Watch the rest of our interview with Hooper above.

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As first reported by Combate, Hooper (10-2-1) will face Felipe Colares (10-3) at the UFC’s May 21, 2022 Fight Night event. Hooper would later confirm the bout on social media.

Hooper’s loss in June, to Steven Peterson, evened his record inside the octagon to 2-2. After winning on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018 while he was still a teenager, Hooper took a developmental deal with the UFC, fighting a couple of more times on the regional scene before debuting on the big stage in 2019.

In his debut, Hooper earned a TKO finish against Daniel Teymur. He also holds a win over Peter Barrett, while his other loss came at the hands of Alex “Bruce Leeroy” Caceres.

Colares, like Hooper, has been trading wins and losses since entering the UFC. He’s posted a 2-3 record, most recently dropping a split decision to Chris Gutierrez.

The UFC’s May 21, 2022 Fight Night event does not yet have a venue, location, or broadcast plan officially announced. Chase Hooper vs. Felipe Colares is the only bout reported for the card thus far, with more additions likely to trickle out in the coming weeks.

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