Chase Hooper eager for “litmus test” against Jim Miller at UFC 314

Chase Hooper is excited to share the Octagon with Jim Miller.

After Hooper beat Clay Guida last time out, he was asked about a potential fight against Miller, which he thought was cool. Hooper thought it was a good next step and a chance to fight another legend.

“It wasn’t even me. One of the media guys was like, what about Jim Miller? I was like, why not? I guess the UFC liked the matchup,” Hooper said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “It’s one of those things that it is cool to fight someone with that much experience and someone I watched growing up. Jim is the right step-up from the Clay fight, left-handed, which is going to be fun, been in there with everybody and a good litmus test. It’s a good test to see how high-level my jiu-jitsu is in MMA and see what the striking looks like.”

As Chase Hooper says, Jim Miller will test his grappling. Although they both are high-level grapplers, Hooper knows that in the past, when two high-level grapplers fought, it could turn into a striking fight.

However, Hooper doesn’t think that will be the case as he expects the fight to mostly play out on the mat.

“I’m not expecting to strike for 15 minutes. I’m not going in there to outkickbox Jim Miller; that isn’t what I see for the fight. I think he may want to strike more than I do,” Hooper said. “But it’s another guy that is comfortable grappling, top or bottom, and will attack for subs. I prefer an opponent that tries for the finish, which Jim does.”

Chase Hooper is expecting a hard fight against Jim Miller at UFC 314

Entering his UFC 314 fight against Jim Miller, Chase Hooper is a massive favorite.

Although Hooper is a big favorite, he doesn’t pay attention to that. Instead, he says he’s preparing for a hard 15-minute fight and knows finishing Miller will be easier said than done.

“I really try not to think about specifics of the fight. I don’t picture that I will get him out in this round. If I’m able to run through him quicker than expected, that’s fine,” Hooper added. “But, I’m preparing to keep a high pace for 15 minutes. Even if I was expecting an easy fight, which I’m not, I still prepare for a hard 15 minutes.”

Should Hooper get his hand raised, he believes he would be a win away from a ranked opponent at lightweight.

“There are a couple of lightweights that I have been keeping my eye on. It puts me right outside the top 15, top 20, top 25. I think if I win this fight and one more, we are definitely fighting for a number. I’m not in too much of a rush, but the issue is, if you keep winning, you climb the ladder,” Hooper concluded.