Chase Hooper vs Steve Garcia Prediction: Hooper will need more than one round

On the preliminary card of UFC Fight Night 213 is an all-American bout between young and rising mixed martial artist Chase Cooper and Steve Garcia who will be changing weights in this bout having fought previously at Lightweight. Steve Cooper expressed surprise at the match-up as he was not expecting to fight Garcia. However, he has said in the build-up that he continues to work towards progressing in the promotion towards fighting a ranked fighter. The two fighters are making quick turnarounds from their last fight which in the case of Garcia was a Lightweight bout

The young American Featherweight began his fighting career while in High School. He was so successful in his early fights that he quickly made it to the UFC, debuting in 2019 at UFC 245. He had earlier been granted a development league contract after winning his bout at Dana White’s Contender Series. He lost in his sophomore fight at UFC 250 to taste defeat for the first time as a pro. His second loss came at UFC 263 against Steven Peterson in a catchweight bout because Peterson was two and half pounds over Featherweight. Chase Hooper has been training in South Carolina, paying a lot of attention to wrestling and striking. Two areas he believes he needs to work on a lot to improve. He has also expressed confidence in his turn-around time from his last fight saying he feels so much better now that when he went eleven months before the fight last time out. He earned his first UFC performance of the Night bonus award with his 3rd round knockout of Felipe Colares in June. 

30-year-old Esteven Garcia does not seem to have decided his best weight class. The former Bellator Bantamweight has also competed in Lightweight and Featherweight. He also seems to have got his most winning streak at Bantamweight. After knocking out Charlie Ontiveros last October, he lost to Hayisaer Maheshate in a first-round KO (punches) in June 2022 to prompt a weight change from Lightweight to Featherweight. In three bouts in the UFC, Garcia has only the solitary win over Ontiveros. 

Hooper is the favorite with the oddsmakers and he has been tipped massively to win. All the same, Garcia has been around for a while and even though he has failed to hit the heights he is a decent mixed martial artist who can stand his ground. Hooper has gone down to South Carolina to improve his striking and wrestling. As a young fighter still learning the ropes, he is expected to improve massively in-between fights. Coming into the UFC with a stellar pro record, Hooper has found the going a bit tough. His losses have come against inspired opponents, so maybe he will be hoping that Garcia won't find any inspiration in Las Vegas. Looking holistically at the two opponents, one expects that the fight will likely go the distance. We predict over 1.5 rounds.

• Over 1.5 rounds at 1.53 odds on Bet 365
• 1 will win by KO, TKO, DQ, Painful lock, Chokehold at 2 odds on 1xbet
• Over 2.5 rounds at 2.15 odds on BetKing