Jordan Leavitt almost quit MMA after "embarrassing" UFC Vegas 82 loss in front of mother and wife; opponent Chase Hooper reacts
Jordan Leavitt said he briefly contemplated hanging up his UFC gloves after his recent setback.
At UFC Vegas 82, Jordan Leavitt vs. Chase Hooper transpired, and the former fell to the latter by way of a first-round rear-naked choke.
In a video addressing the Hooper loss, Jordan Leavitt took to social media and stated that he contemplated leaving the sport in the fifteen minutes following the defeat.
'The Monkey King' said the loss hurt more than the Claudio Puelles and Paddy Pimblett losses he has sustained in previous UFC efforts.
Leavitt felt everything was perfectly in place, with his wife and mom being in the crowd for the first time. Plus, he had a great weight cut and almost put on twenty-five pounds after the weight cut, seemingly having the consummate cap before the deflating defeat.
In the referenced video clip shared on X by @ AlexBehunin, Leavitt said:
"I'm doing well. I'm escaping submissions, trying to gas him out. I'm landing damaging ground and pound and I just; mental vacation. Got my back, I didn't fight the right hand, embarrassing stuff. At least I feel like it's embarrassing. Yeah, I don't know where I go from here."
Hooper responded by saying:
"This fight was a little different for me being against a guy that I already knew and liked. It’s hard to want to hurt someone you like. Jordan’s a great guy and an absolute gentleman. I wish nothing but the best for him and his family 🙏🏻🙏🏻"
Check out the clip of Leavitt discussing the Hooper loss below:
Jordan Leavitt and his UFC run so far
After emerging on Dana White's Contender Series in the summer of 2020, Jordan Leavitt would eventually make his official UFC debut to close out the year. He did so by besting Matt Wiman with a hugely memorable slam KO in less than 30 seconds at the December 2020 UFC Fight Night event.
Leavitt then had his first loss inside of the octagon and first blemish in mixed martial arts overall when he lost that aforementioned Claudio Puelles bout by unanimous decision in June 2021. Consecutive wins over Matt Sayles and Trey Ogden via inverted triangle choke and split decision got him back into the win column.
Speaking of aforementioned losses, it was then that Leavitt fell to Paddy Pimblett by way of a second-round rear naked choke in July of last year.
Leavitt dusted himself off from the loss to the English standout and halted Victor Martinez. He did so with knees and punches in the first-round finish in February of this year. This was the contest that transpired prior to his Chase Hooper bout.