Chase Hooper vs. Steven Peterson targeted for UFC 263

Chase Hooper has his first fight of 2021 on the books.

Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that a featherweight matchup between Hooper and Steven Peterson has been added to the UFC 263 fight card. The event takes place June 12 at a location yet to be announced, although Dana White has hinted Arizona as the potential landing spot. BJ PENN was first to report the booking.

Hooper is set to make his fourth walk to the octagon and is coming off one of the craziest wins of his career. After being down two rounds on two judges’ scorecards—19-19 on the third—“The Dream” was able to come through with a heel hook submission in the third round at UFC 256 in December. The 21-year-old picked up his second UFC stoppage win, bouncing back from his first pro loss to Alex Caceres at UFC 250.

Peterson will compete for the first time in nearly two years after being forced to withdraw from his last two scheduled bookings. “Ocho” snapped a two-fight skid in highlight reel fashion in his most recent appearance when he stopped Martin Bravo with a spinning back fist at UFC Mexico City in September 2019.

UFC 263 will be headlined by a middleweight title fight between Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori. The flyweight championship will be on the line in the co-main event as Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno will run it back following their instant classic in December.