Jordan Leavitt hopes to hand Chase Hooper his first submission loss.
Leavitt (11-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) meets Hooper (12-3-1 MMA, 4-3 UFC) on Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 232 main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event streams on ESPN+.
Leavitt admits he’s a fan of Hooper, which makes him unsure of how their fight will play out.
“This is my first time fighting somebody that I like and I’ve been a fan of,” Leavitt told MMA Junkie Radio. “I was a fan of Matt Wiman, but also it was my UFC debut, and I was a little scared.
“But this fight, I’m not sure what to anticipate because I feel like we might both be going in there like, ‘OK, no empathy, go for the kill.’ So, I think it’ll be a little more uncharacteristically violent as we compensate for those nice feelings, but I can’t tell you how this fight is going to go.”
Both the majority of Leavitt and Hooper’s wins have come by submission, and Leavitt wants to add another one to his resume. But Leavitt thinks their similar approach could end up neutralizing each other and their fight plays out on the feet.
“I would love to be the first person to submit Chase Hooper,” Leavitt continued. “I’m not sure many people will get that opportunity in his career, but I definitely feel inclined to believe it’s going to be a very awkward kickboxing fight, and I’m down for that. We’re both coming off our best striking performances, and we both never really fought another grappling specialist. So, it’s going to be a weird one.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 232.
