Following his impressive win tonight at UFC 314, featherweight prospect Chase Hooper has drawn comparisons, albeit surprisingly, to dominant ex-champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
And no, it’s not because of his self-proclaimed habit of chronic masturbation!
Hooper returned tonight in search of his fifth consecutive victory and did just that. Wrapping up an impressive unanimous judging win, the Eumenclaw native landed a career-high decision win over veteran Jim Miller (41), outworking his fellow grappling star.
A talented submission threat, Hooper, 25, has also competed thrice in submission grappling- taking on a slew of fellow Octagon stars. Despite dropping losses to Renato Moicano and ex-champion Aljamain Sterling, Hooper has beaten Clay Guida in both grappling and mixed martial arts.
Entering the cage for the twentieth time tonight, Hooper was, however, unable to add to his impressive eight career submission tally. But he definitely turned some heads with his ground game.
Largely out-grappling and wrestling Miller when it called for it tonight, Hooper got compared to former champion Khabib, mainly on social media for a particular exchange where he triangled Miller’s leg.
“Congrats USA you have Khabib (Nurmagomedov),” Twitter user, Dovy posted tonight.
congrats USA you have khabib pic.twitter.com/cxEDNeeSq9
— Dovy (@DovySimuMMA) April 13, 2025
And while that comparison is absolutely astounding already, another fan is riding the Hooper hype train, saying, “And this is probably the least ironic way of saying it too. [The] kid is phenomenal.”
Meanwhile, this fan argued against it. “Khabib would go for finishes“, he said.
Comparisons to Nurmagomedov’s ability are widely exaggerated, though. While an impressive grappler, Hooper has yet to take on fighters even near the Russian star’s competition during his Octagon career.
Furthermore, a common theme with Nurmagomedov’s foes was his ability to almost drown out their ability to fight back, especially when they were placed on the canvas.
Chase ‘The Gooner’ Hooper
Claiming in a bid to up his cardio this fight camp, Hooper admitted to masturbating more than usual- in a term he referred to as ‘gooning’.
“I spent too much time gooning this camp,” Hooper told Joe Rogan after his UFC 314 win. “My forearms are a little sore, so I’ve gotta walk that back a little bit“, the 15-year-old added.
Chase Hooper explains his “gooner” comment in his #UFC314 post-fight interview:
“We’ve got to try different stuff for the cardio. … I’m not a big proponent of semen retention. Different strokes for different folks, as they say.” pic.twitter.com/o1Vz0U164C
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) April 13, 2025
Thankfully, Rogan had no idea what he meant at the moment. Perhaps he will and discuss it on a later episode of the Joe Rogan Experience.
Meanwhile, hoping to avoid another veteran in his return to action to boot, Hooper also had a particular callout in mind. Welcoming a fresh-faced foe similar to himself, the youngster claimed he would rather fight a Tom Nolan of the division- over another veteran approaching the tail end of their fighting career.
One thing is for sure, however, if his recent run of straight wins continues, he’s definitely not far from the lightweight division’s top-15 rankings- particularly if he can sound out resounding wins on the trot.
