Enumclaw’s Chase Hooper has settled in as a lightweight and the future looks bright.

At least, that’s the popular takeaway following Hooper’s May 20 victory over Nick Fiore during UFC Vegas 73.

The storyline surrounding the 23-year-old’s ascent in the octagon came to light during a post-fight interview with the media, a session that detailed his step up from the lighter featherweight class.

The 6 foot, 1 inch Hooper – who fights out of Enumclaw’s Combat Sports and Fitness – had endured 10 fights in the 145-pound division. But, he told the assembled media, the effort took a toll on his body.

“I was murdering myself, trying to get down to 145,” he said. The fighter said his “walking around” weight was perhaps 185 pounds, which meant shedding a lot of bulk before stepping in as a featherweight. During pre-fight camp, Hooper said, he would drop to about 170 pounds, then switch to a protein shake diet to make weight.

More comfortable as a lightweight, battling in the 155-pound range, the southpaw dispatched Fiore by unanimous decision to push his professional record to 12-3-1.

Hooper, during his 10-minute, post-fight session with the press, covered a lot of ground. One question, in particular, centered upon the mixed reviews he has received on social media.

“Since (I was) 18 years old I’ve had people on the internet telling me I’m either that I’m amazing or that I’m trash,” he answered. “Neither of them are right. The answer is somewhere in the middle.”

Not that he intends to stay in the middle of the pack. An advantage, Hooper continued, is that time is on his side. At 23, he continues to improve mentally, physically and professionally.

As for his professional future, Hooper said he plans to take the summer off and let his body heal. The goal, he said, is to return to the octagon late in the year.

“There’s a ton of really fun jiu-jitsu guys at lightweight and I’d like to test myself against those guys,” he said.

A 2017 graduate of Enumclaw High School, Hooper was young when he began taking jiu-jitsu and kickboxing lessons. As part of a question-and-answer segment appearing on the UFC website, Hooper said he started training at 8 years old “and I just never stopped.”

He started thinking about fighting as a young teen, he said. “I wanted to fight because I’m a competitive person and I wanted to see how far I could go doing something that I love.”

As part of the Q&A, Hooper noted that “I’ve sacrificed so much in the name of training that it would be a shame not to see how far I can go with fighting.”