Chase Hooper just beat someone who was competing in the UFC when he was just seven years old.
‘The Dream’ squared off against 63-fight MMA veteran Clay Guida at UFC 310 on Saturday night.
Guida debuted in the UFC in October 2006. Almost two decades later, ‘The Carpenter’ is still competing in MMA’s premier promotion at 42 years of age – but it’s not going well as he’s now on a three-fight losing streak.
Chase Hooper made the historic age difference tell at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Chase Hooper makes it four wins in a row
Guida may have been 17 years older than his UFC 310 opponent, but he bounced around the Octagon with the energy of an excited fighter making their promotional debut.
Joe Rogan immediately began praising Hooper for his ever-improving striking skills before the 25-year-old quickly went to using the grappling skills he’s famous for.
Eventually, he grabbed onto an arm and scored a slick first-round submission victory.
In doing so, Hooper beat a man 6,488 days older than him to make modern UFC history. However, the largest age gap between UFC opponents came when 27-year-old Royce Gracie squared off against 51-year-old Ron Van Clief at UFC 4 in December 1994.
The commentators praised Hooper for his ‘beautiful’ striking and grappling display at UFC 310.
Hooper used his post-fight mic time to reflect on an eventual five years in Dana White‘s league.
Guida wasn’t given a post-fight interview. Usually, an old-timer like him would get the chance to retire at that moment, but he annoyed the UFC bosses by pretending to retire after losing to Rafa Garcia last year.
Chase Hooper feels like he belongs
Things haven’t always been easy for Chase Hooper since he joined the UFC.
A young, raw talent he has suffered three defeats during his 19-fight MMA career.
After addressing some flaws in his game Hooper is starting to look like a potential contender.
The lightweight prospect is starting to feel like one too, that was obvious during his post-fight interview.
“December 2019 I was in this very same Octagon,” Hooper told Rogan.
“An awkward 20-year-old kid trying to talk to you about personalized M&M’s.
“Here we are five years later, 10 fights in the UFC. It feels like everything is coming full circle.
“It’s really great to have all this stuff coming together and I feel like I belong. 10 fights. I’m here.”