UFC 250 results: Alex Caceres puts on striking clinic to hand Chase Hooper his first defeat

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Alex Caceres showed how much veteran experience can make a difference as he dished out a striking clinic over three rounds to hand Chase Hooper his first professional defeat.

Again and again, Caceres showcased superiority on the feet while stuffing almost every attempt from Hooper to take the fight to the ground. When it was over, Caceres won a clean sweep on the judges’ scorecards with all three giving him the fight 30-27.

“I know a lot of people think they can beat me,” Caceres said after picking up his second win in a row. “I know I’m a gatekeeper right now but just now today I proved that I’m not.”

Like a sniper, Caceres was on target with his striking with a technical boxing attack that saw him snap Hooper’s head back several times in the opening round. Caceres’ best punch early was a nasty right hand that immediately wobbled Hooper and left him on rubber legs for a moment.

right hand!

@BruceLeeroyGlow is showing his advantage with the hands early. #UFC250 pic.twitter.com/IMhKyN63SU

— UFC (@ufc) June 7, 2020

With Hooper struggling to contend with Caceres on the feet, he began searching for a takedown or even pulling guard in an attempt to drag the fight to the ground. While he did manage to go to the ground with Caceres on a couple of occasions, Hooper couldn’t maintain control as he tried to find a submission.

In return, Caceres continue to make Hooper pay in nearly every exchange on the feet. Caceres was accurate and fast with straight punches at a distance and then making Hooper pay with power punches whenever he managed to get inside.

While he couldn’t put the 20-year-old featherweight away, Caceres was dominating with his striking and giving Hooper a harsh lesson in only his second UFC fight.

While he’s certainly endured a lot of ups and downs over the years, Caceres is still a dangerous matchup for anybody in the featherweight division as Hooper learned all too well as he drops to 9-1-1 in his career.