Clearly, the UFC had high hopes for Chase Hooper.
Sure, the Washington state product had yet to stamp himself as a future title contender; he entered his Oct. 29, 2022, fight against Albuquerque’s Steve Garcia with a 3-2 record in UFC competition. But, hey, the kid was only 23 and was coming off an impressive victory five months earlier.
Garcia? Just as clearly, those high hopes weren’t there for him.
At 30, having fought on local and regional cards and then in Bellator, he made his UFC debut in February 2020 as a late replacement. Thrown in against veteran Luis Peña, Garcia lost by lopsided unanimous decision.
Then, after getting his first UFC win over Charlie Ontiveros (ground-and-pound, second round), he was knocked cold by China’s Hayisaer Maheshate (1 minute, 14 seconds of the first round, counter right hand) in Singapore.
Thus, Garcia entered the Octagon that night against Hooper a decided underdog — and knowing a loss in the final fight of a four-fight contract could be his last in the UFC.
“Yeah,” Garcia said in a recent Zoom interview. “It was do or die for me.”
And now?
Garcia’s victory over Hooper (left hook, punches on ground, first round, 1:32) was the first of the seven straight victories — six by knockout, producing $150,000 in Performance of the Night bonuses — that have earned him a spot on the UFC’s June 14 Freedom 250 card on the White House lawn. He’s matched against Brazil’s Diego Lopes.
What a turnaround.
“I believe that winners don’t quit on themselves,” Garcia (19-5) said of his journey from the floor in Singapore to the South Lawn of the White House. “… Knowing that you did everything that you possibly could to win a fight, I think that will go far.
“I was on the brink of being cut. … I had to do something special, and now, here’s my opportunity.”
Beyond the opportunity of fighting on arguably the highest-profile UFC card in the history of the organization is the chance to get closer, so much closer, to a shot at the UFC featherweight (145-pound) title.
Lopes (27-8) is ranked the No. 2 challenger to the title held by Alexander Vokanovski. A victory at Freedom 250 would put Garcia on the doorstep of a title shot.
The more violent the victory, the better.
“I do think that if there’s no Alexander Volkanovski, (Lopes) would be the champion,” Garcia said. “So let’s go out there and beat the next-best guy, right?
“I think, depending on how I beat Diego Lopes, that’s going to be a big signifier if I get the next title shot or not. Either way, I should be the next up. I believe that.”
Garcia trains in Albuquerque at Jackson-Wink MMA Academy, the only gym to have two of its fighters on the White House card.
Fast-rising heavyweight Josh Hokit (9-0), who’s scheduled to face veteran Derrick Lewis (29-13) at Freedom 250, is from Fresno, California, and is a relatively recent arrival at J-W.
Garcia is a New Mexico native and Rio Rancho graduate who has trained at Jackson-Wink for “at least a decade, maybe a decade-and-a-half.”
He paid tribute to teammates past and present who’ve helped him rise to the highest levels of his chosen sport.
“I’m truly blessed,” Garcia said. “I’m blessed for the people who were actually there before I was, you know. Holly Holm, Michelle Waterson, Carlos Condit, Jon Jones, John Dodson, Diego Brandao, Diego Sanchez. … Just all those guys, man.
“They really are a blueprint and a path on how to be successful in the sport. They took me under their wing when they didn’t have to and they looked out for our own.”
One foundational member of Garcia’s Jackson-Wink team won’t be in his corner on June 14. Coach and J-W co-founder Greg Jackson has said that for personal reasons he will not travel to Washington D.C. for Garcia’s fight or for Hokit’s.
“I’ve always wanted Greg Jackson in my corner,” Garcia said. “… He won’t be there for this one, but I’ve had so many fights without him, so it’s not that unusual.”
Coach and co-founder Mike Winkeljohn will corner for Garcia at Freedom 250, as will veteran J-W coach Joey Villaseñor and Steve Garcia Sr., the man who got his son started in the sport.
White House or no White House, title shot or no title shot, Garcia is keenly interested in adding to the seven-fight win streak that got him to this point.
“Just perseverance, man, has been the key,” he said. “My faith, and just wanting to be best representation for my son. I want to provide for my family.
“And, yeah, I’m feeling like I’m getting the support of my hometown. And now that I get this opportunity at the White House, I feel like I have America at my back.”
As for Hooper, he’s doing fine: 16-5-1 overall, 8-5 UFC.
But he’s not fighting at the White House.
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