The UFC Oklahoma City card is officially underway following Friday’s weigh-ins, but not everyone got through the final hurdle without some last-minute drama.

Former middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis and former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman both made weight for Saturday night’s headliner, while co-main event fighters Jared Cannonier and Christian Leroy Duncan also made their 185 lbs weight.

However, not every fighter was as fortunate, as the weigh-ins saw two fighters missing weight and creating late complications for the event. And the biggest surprise for fight fans was the fact that one big name to not hit the mark was none other than Chase Hooper, who missed weight for the first time in his UFC career.

The 13-fight UFC veteran weighed 157.5 lbs for his lightweight showdown with Mitch Ramirez, placing him 1.5 lbs over the non-title limit. Fortunately for fans, the fight will still go ahead. The UFC confirmed that the fight will be at catchweight, with ‘The Dream’ forfeiting 20% of his earnings to Ramirez as punishment for the miss.

Unfortunately, Hooper wasn’t the only fighter who had a difficult morning on the scales. Undefeated featherweight Ezra Elliott, who was added to the card during fight week, also weighed 1.5 lbs over the limit at 147.5 pounds ahead of his promotional debut against fellow newcomer Damien Anderson.

Unlike Chase Hooper’s fight, Ezra Elliott’s situation remains unresolved. The UFC has yet to announce if the bout will go on as planned and if he, too, will face some financial penalties.

The double-weight miss also ended a streak that the UFC had been quietly enjoying. Neither UFC 329 nor UFC Baku had a single fighter miss weight, making this the first event since UFC Vegas 119 to have any issues on the scale. At that event, flyweight Kevin Borjas was three pounds overweight and had to give up 20% of his purse to his opponent.

Now, both Hooper and Elliott have brought that run to an end. While Ezra Elliott can point to his late-notice UFC debut as a reason behind his not making the contractual weight, Chase Hooper’s failure is likely to sting even more, considering his experience inside the promotion.

Chase Hooper believes he’s already entering the veteran stage of his career with UFC Oklahoma City

Missing weight for the first time is particularly shocking given Chase Hooper’s recent admission that he no longer considers himself one of the UFC’s young prospects. Despite being only 26 years old, the UFC lightweight believes he has already entered the veteran phase of his career after nearly six years on the roster.

“I think I’m moving into middle-aged in MMA years,” Hooper told the UFC. “I’m not 30, so not quite halfway to retirement, but we’re working our way there.”

The Washington native made his UFC debut in 2019 when he was just 20, quickly becoming one of the roster’s youngest fighters. Since then, he’s earned a reputation as one of the division’s fiercest grapplers, with an 8-5 promotional record.

‘The Dream’ also stated that reflecting on his journey has been surreal, but he isn’t thinking much beyond his next opponent.

“I still feel like I have a lot more fights left in me,” he added. “It’s crazy to look back and see how far we’ve come, but I just take it fight by fight.”

That approach will be even more critical this weekend. Chase Hooper enters UFC Oklahoma City looking to snap a two-fight losing streak after losses to Alexander Hernandez and Lance Gibson Jr., with the latter stopping him just 2:56 into the very first round.

Now the lightweight will be hoping to raise his hand on Saturday night. Even if he does, the win would come at a cost, since he was forced to forfeit 20% of his earnings following the first weight miss of his UFC career.