Chase Hooper, one of the UFC's most jiu-jitsu-forward lightweights, missed weight for the first time in his career ahead of UFC Fight Night: Du Plessis vs. Usman, forfeiting part of his purse just a day before he needed his ground game most.
Reviewed by BJJ Gyms · Updated 2026-07-27
Sources: MiddleEasy, Yardbarker, July 2026.
Chase Hooper stepped on the scale for his lightweight bout against Mitch Ramirez at UFC Oklahoma City and came in at 157.5 pounds, a pound and a half over the promotion's non-title limit. It marked the first time in his UFC tenure that Hooper has missed weight, and as is standard practice, he will forfeit 20 percent of his fight purse directly to Ramirez while the bout moves forward at a catchweight.
Hooper was not the only fighter to miss the mark that day. Ezra Elliott, a featherweight who was only added to the card once fight week was already underway, also weighed in heavy at 147.5 pounds for what was supposed to be his promotional debut against Damien Anderson. Unlike Hooper's situation, the financial and scheduling consequences for Elliott's miss were still being worked out at the time of the weigh-ins.
Weight misses happen across the sport for all kinds of reasons, but Hooper's situation is worth a closer look specifically because of who he is on the mat. He is a BJJ black belt who built his entire path to the UFC on the strength of his grappling, including a background as a junior IBJJF Pan American medalist before he ever turned pro in MMA.
That jiu-jitsu foundation shows up in his fight style. Hooper is comfortable in scrambles, confident from bad positions, and has finished a majority of his career wins by submission rather than strikes. For fans who follow this site specifically because they care about the ground game inside the cage, Hooper's bouts are consistently worth watching regardless of the circumstances around fight week, and this one is no exception even with the catchweight adjustment.
Missed weight is often treated as purely a discipline or scheduling story, but for grappling-heavy fighters it also raises a real question about longevity. Cutting weight aggressively can leave a fighter depleted heading into exactly the kind of high-output scrambles and ground exchanges that define a submission specialist's game plan, which is part of why some veteran grapplers eventually move up in weight class rather than keep cutting.
Hooper's situation, at 13 fights into his UFC career, is a reminder that even experienced grapplers are not immune to the physical toll of the sport catching up with them over time. How he performs at catchweight against Ramirez will say something about whether the missed weight affected his conditioning or was simply an isolated slip.
Whatever the outcome against Ramirez, Hooper's career is a good example of how a strong BJJ foundation translates into a durable, watchable style inside the cage long after the highlight-reel finishes of a fighter's debut have faded. That kind of foundation does not require a professional career to build.
If you want to develop the same scrambling instincts and submission awareness that keep fighters like Hooper competitive fight after fight, use the gym finder at BJJGyms.org to find a BJJ or no-gi gym near you. Many locations, including 10th Planet affiliates, run beginner-friendly classes built around exactly this kind of live, scramble-based grappling.
Before this weigh-in story, Hooper was already known to grappling fans for a specific reason. Here is his résumé.
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No. The bout against Mitch Ramirez proceeded at a catchweight, with Hooper forfeiting 20 percent of his purse to Ramirez as a penalty.
Yes. Hooper holds a BJJ black belt and built his path to the UFC in part through competitive sport jiu-jitsu as a junior athlete.
Featherweight Ezra Elliott, a short-notice addition to the card, also missed weight for what was meant to be his UFC debut.
Aggressive cuts can leave a fighter depleted for the high-output scrambles and ground exchanges that submission-focused grapplers rely on, which can affect performance even if the fighter makes weight.