Following his win over Loic Radjabov at UFC on ESPN 60, Trey Ogden called Chase Hooper an “easy” opponent.
On Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Ogden dominated Radjabov on the ground for three rounds to earn a unanimous decision victory. Afterwards, Ogden called out Hooper, but “Shamurai” thinks he’s overrated him. According to his Marathon MMA head coach, Hooper is not a “scary” opponent.
“I want to fight Chase Hooper. This guy’s been on my radar for a long time. I’ve had him on my radar for three fights,” Ogden told media after the fight. “I think he’s overrated. I don’t think he’s that good. And I want to pick an easy guy to beat…an easy beater. Not a very scary guy this time.”
UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad airs Saturday at 10pm ET on ESPN+. Order yours now! Hooper has earned seven of his 14 career wins by submission and has made a name for himself competing in the UFC Fight Pass Invitational grappling tournament. But Ogden believes he’s a better grappler than Hooper and is looking to steal the spotlight from “The Dream.”
“I’m at least three times better at grappling than him,” Ogden said. “I mean it. I can knock him out on the stand. I can dominate him with my grappling. And after this fight, I think my grappling is going to be seriously evaluated. After the Hollobaugh fight and this fight. When I fight someone like Chase Hooper, whose grappling is really recognized, you’ll see that I can easily dominate him with my grappling. I think it’s going to be a great fight for me to show the world and the fans.”
“It’s not personal. I think he has more fans than me and I think he’s bad, so I think it’s an easy fight. I’m probably the best grappler in this weight class. I should compete in the Fight Pass Invitational. I can grapple at a professional level.”
Ogden is currently on a two-fight win streak and has a 3-2-1 overall UFC record, while Hooper is riding a three-fight win streak, most recently coming off a submission win over Viacheslav Borshev in March of this year.
