Chase Hooper snapped his losing streak in emphatic fashion on Saturday, submitting Mitch Ramirez in the first round at UFC Fight Night 281.
Hooper finished Ramirez by rear-naked choke at 2:15 of Round 1 at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, avoiding what would have been a third consecutive defeat.
"I told my wife, 'I'm not losing three in a row. If I lose three fights in a row, I don't deserve to be here. I need to figure something else out,'" Hooper said after the win.
Hooper entered the bout without a victory in over a year. The result marked his first win since a unanimous decision over Jim Miller in April 2025 and his first finish since an armbar against Clay Guida in December 2024.
"It was very much a make-or-break moment for me. It's so nice because it's been over a year since I won my last fight. It was the Jim Miller fight back in April of last year. it's been over a year since I've been able to feel this. It's a drug. You crave it," Hooper said. "But we're here and I'll push those worries off. I still have the skill set. I still deserve to be here – and onto the next one."
Hooper also credited recently retired Michael Chiesa, with whom he trained in Spokane during camp. "I took a couple pages out of his playbook and obviously, it worked out."
