Peter Barrett on Following the ‘Blueprint to Destroy’ Chase Hooper

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In the lead up to his return to the Octagon at UFC 256, Peter Barrett and his coaches did not need to dig deep into video to find a viable strategy for defeating Chase Hooper. In the Massachusetts native’s mind, the blueprint for beating “The Teenage Dream” already exists, and it was designed and executed seamlessly by Alex Caceres in his victory over Hooper in June.

“I would be a fool to say that Caceres did not lay a blueprint to destroy him with the standup. He did a great job defending his back. Scrapping him off the cage. Picking him apart from range. They are pretty much the same height, but Hooper gives up his height a lot when he strikes by bringing his chin in right behind his elbows. So Caceres was able to key on those, and if I’m telling you about those things you know I’ve seen them too. Caceres did a great job giving us a blueprint. Seeing how he reacted in those situations has allowed us to refine it a little bit and to see other ways to do it too.”

Along with breaking down his upcoming matchup inside the UFC Apex, the 34-year-old also spoke about being viewed at one time as too old for Dana White’s Contender Series.