Preview: UFC Fight Night 213 Prelims

Featherweights

Chase Hooper (11-2-1, 3-2 UFC) vs. Steve Garcia (12-5, 1-2 UFC)

ODDS: Hooper (-255), Garcia (+215)

It is nice to see Hooper make some much-needed progress, as “The Dream” was at risk of having his UFC career wash out before it really got started. Hooper was just 18 years old when he earned a developmental contract on Dana White’s Contender Series. He showed some clear strengths and weaknesses: He is an extremely talented grappler but has not typically been much of a wrestler or a striker. Hooper found some wins at the UFC level, but even those performances raised some concerns about his long-term viability. Almost all of Hooper’s fights saw him eat a ton of damage on the feet, with the feeling that he was surviving only via the durability of youth. After a disheartening loss to Steven Peterson in 2021, it was 11 months until Hooper returned against Felipe Dias Colares and put on what might have been the best performance of his career. Hooper’s striking remains a dicey proposition, but he showed some improved wrestling chops and a focus on control over submissions, with the end result being an impressive third-round stoppage via ground-and-pound. Hooper looks to keep the good vibes going against Garcia, who is a virtual lock to make this a tough fight. An experienced vet before getting the late-notice UFC call in 2020, “Mean Machine” has an approach built all around aggression. Garcia is not much of an athlete but attempts to make up for that with pressure and volume, including some particularly strong ground-and-pound of his own. Of course, that comes at the expense of his defense. Garcia nearly got knocked out in his lone UFC win over Charlie Ontiveros, and his last bout saw Hayisaer Maheshate turn his lights out in just 74 seconds. Hooper does not provide that type of threat, but Garcia’s willingness to go anywhere with his pressure means that this fight will likely wind up on the mat sooner rather than later. Garcia should be able to avoid getting submitted and make this a fight, but the bet is that Hooper—much like Garcia’s UFC debut against Luis Pena—can find enough positional control to grind out an ugly win. The pick is Hooper via decision.

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