Five wins were by finish at UFC Fight Night in St. Louis on Saturday. None of those finishes were more surprising than Chase Hooper’s submission victory over Viacheslav Borschev.
Hooper’s performance was so good that UFC CEO Dana White thinks he deserves to be added to the EA UFC 5 roster.
A member of the local St. Louis MMA media asked White about Hooper’s addition to EA UFC 5 during the post-event presser. White confirmed his part in the process of adding a fighter to the game and seemed to have verbally signed off on Hooper’s addition in a future update.
“Sure. you want me to do it, is that what you’re asking?,” White asked while speaking to the reporter. “I think tonight, he earned his spot in the UFC video game. If you look at how hard that kid has been working. He came in here at a very young age, and very one dimensional. He actually dropped him in the first round with a punch. He’s come into his own. He put on a great performance tonight.”
The reporter was campaigning for the addition of Joaquin Buckley as well, but EA has already announced Buckley will be added during International Fight Week in an update that drops around UFC 303.
Hooper’s submission win wasn’t a surprise.
However, his performance on the feet was shocking considering, as White mentioned, Hooper began his UFC run as a fighter who was only dangerous as a grappler.
If Hooper, who also doubles as a journalist for UFC Fight Pass, grabs another impressive win, his status as a fan favorite will grow. Hooper is a three-time UFC Fight Pass Journalist of the Year.
In the announcement, as mentioned above, EA Sports released an impressive list of new additions to the game’s roster. However, Hooper wasn’t part of the group. However, that doesn’t mean he won’t get in.
Alonzo Menifield, who was knocked out in 12 seconds at UFC St. Louis, was just added to the roster without being included in the initial news rollout.
Perhaps EA can slide Hooper into the same update as Buckley.
Hooper understands the game. He has already mentioned challenging gamers to win a fight via KO using his character. Someone needs to tell Hooper that it might not be as difficult as it seems.
The ground game still has the most definitive skill gap between good and bad players. Striking can sometimes go either way unless you’re playing against someone who is massively better or worse than you.
I’m sure his strike attributes will be modest, but depending on the level you’re playing online, you still should be able to accomplish the task. It’s a very doable thing if you’re playing offline and not a complete novice.
Adding Hooper to the game would be cool, but I doubt he’ll influence me to shift my main from Charles Oliveira. In any case, the more options, the better for any sports video game roster.
