UFC on ESPN 60 winner Trey Ogden eyes Chase Hooper: 'I want to pick some of that low-hanging fruit'

LAS VEGAS – Trey Ogden sees Chase Hooper as easy money.

Ogden (18-6 MMA, 5-3 UFC) notched his second consecutive win when he defeated Loik Radzhabov (18-6-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC) by unanimous decision in their lightweight bout Saturday at the UFC Apex.

Ogden thinks he’s been facing some tough opposition as of late and actually sees Hooper (14-3-1 MMA, 6-3 UFC) as a step down in competition.

“I want to fight Chase Hooper,” Ogden told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference Saturday. “I keep calling this dude out. I’ve been calling him out for three fights. I think he is overrated, I don’t think he’s that good, and I want to pick some of that low-hanging fruit. … I’ll smash him easily. He’s not a scary dude for a change.”

With seven submissions to his name, Hooper has participated in numerous grappling competitions, some which have aired on UFC Fight Pass. Ogden is confident he’d run through Hooper on the ground and thinks he should be the one participating in big grappling tournaments.

“I’m three times a better grappler than him, minimum,” Ogden said. “And I mean that for real. I could knock him out on the feet. I could destroy him in the grappling, and I think after this fight, maybe my grappling will start to get some serious respect. After the Holobaugh fight and then this fight.

“I think that a fight against a guy like Chase Hooper, where his grappling is really respected, and then you could watch how easily I could run through him in the grappling. I think that would be a great fight for me to show that to the world and to the fanbase. It’s not personal. I think he has more fans than me, and I think he sucks. So I think it’s an easy fight. I’m probably the best grappler in the division. I should be on Fight Pass Invitationals. I can grapple at a professional level.”

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