Son of UFC veteran gets emotional after scoring vicious KO the same way as father 26 years later

Lance Gibson Jr earned his first UFC win in emphatic style on Saturday.

The 31-year-old viciously stopped Chase Hooper on the preliminary card of UFC Seattle, almost exactly 26 years after his dad did the same in scarily similar circumstances.

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Gibson was a huge underdog heading into the bout, having been outpointed by King Green on his UFC debut in December.

However, the Seattle-born Canadian fighter caught Hooper with an elbow from hell in the first round before finishing the fight moments later.

Hooper was immediately stunned by Gibson Jr’s left elbow, and the latter followed up with two nasty leg kicks before dropping his opponent with a thunderous knee.

Referee Blake Grice was quick to wave off the fight, with no complaints from Hooper, who stumbled as he made it back to his feet.

Like father, like son

Gibson Jr’s finish of Hooper came 26 years and 18 days after his father, Lance Gibson Sr, finished Jermaine Andre with a knee at UFC 24 to earn his first win in Dana White‘s promotion.

“I’m at a loss for words,” Gibson Jr told Daniel Cormier after his first victory in the big leagues before addressing the boos from the crowd.

“It’s alright, guys, I was born in West Seattle. I was born 10 mins from here, just so you know, you don’t have to boo me, this meant a lot to me…

“I’d sit outside of this arena and dream of being on a stage as big as this and accomplishing my dreams.”

‘Fearless’ couldn’t hold back his emotions when Cormier mentioned the stoppage was just like his father’s first triumph in the UFC.

“I finished with a knee 26 years later, after my dad finished with a knee knockout,” Gibson Jr concluded before embracing his dad, who was present in the Octagon.

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Gibson Jr made his name under the Bellator banner before joining the UFC in 2025.

Gibson Sr defeated Andre on his UFC debut in March 2000, but left the promotion after suffering a first-round stoppage defeat in his second bout nine months later.

Hooper, meanwhile, suffered consecutive defeats for the first time in his professional career at UFC Seattle.

The 26-year-old emerged through White’s Contender Series in 2018 and has won eight of his 13 fights in the promotion.

Elsewhere on the early UFC Fight Night card in Seattle, headlined by Israel Adesanya vs Joe Pyfer, Ricky Simon fought Adrian Yanez to a majority draw.

And Navajo Stirling extended his undefeated record to 9-0 with a second-round stoppage over Bruno Lopes.

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