"This is a sick matchup" - Fans amped as Chase Hooper reveals former bantamweight champ as opponent at ADXC

Chase Hooper and Aljamain Sterling will test their skills in Q1 of 2024.

ADXC2 goes down on January 19 from Abu Dhabi and features these two UFC names. The no-gi welterweight bout between Hooper and Sterling headlines the sophomore ADXC event at Mubadala Arena.

Both men have gotten their name out on the grappling scene in the past and as of late. Chase Hooper has a pair of recorded grappling bouts in recent years, going 1-1 across the matches. The curly-haired lightweight lost a decision to Renato Moicano at Fury Pro Grappling 3, then secured a calf slicer win over Clay Guida at Fury Pro Grappling 6 last December.

Sterling recently stated he'll be facing off with Kevin Dantzler on December 30 at Fury Pro Grappling 8. The former UFC bantamweight champion also bested Mike Grundy via unanimous decision at Polaris 25 in September.

Several X users had their say on the match announcement that came via Chase Hooper tweeting out a poster of the showdown.

Check out Hooper's announcement post of the Sterling grappling match below:

Reacting to the tweet, @Dontnerf stated:

"this is a sick matchup! Can't wait to watch. LFG American Kopylov and the @funkmasterMMA 🔥🔥🔥

@KingHaroldUFC said:

"Welterweight?! Damn you guys just rolling off the Xmas couch"

@kungfubacon quipped:

"That’s fantastic! That will be a fun one for the fans for sure. Best of luck/skill to you!"

@elitesavage said:

"Dude this is insane Jack 🔥🔥🔥"

@jackmesteir stated:

"Oh nice, good luck!"

Fan reactions to the grappling bout

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Chase Hooper and his UFC run so far

Chase Hooper debuted under the UFC banner at UFC 245 and won via first-round ground and pound against Daniel Teymur.

'The Dream' then lost to Alex Caceres at UFC 250 but ended off his 2020 campaign with a third-round heel hook victory over Peter Barrett at UFC 256.

The 24-year-old suffered bookending losses to Steven Peterson and Steve Garcia, with a win over Felipe Corales last May in between.

Hooper is currently riding back-to-back victories heading into 2024. He secured a Unainomus decision over Nick Fiore in May and locked in a first-round rear naked choke against Jordan Leavitt in November.

The Washington native has never notched wins in consecutive UFC contests and has his highest degree of momentum yet as a new calendar year looms ever closer.