Canadian lightweight Lance Gibson Jr. to fight on March UFC card in Seattle

By Canadian Press on January 23, 2026.

Canadian Lance (Fearless) Gibson Jr., who lost his UFC debut in December after accepting the bout on less than a week’s notice, is getting another shot.

The 30-year-old lightweight from Port Moody, B.C., will face Chase (The Dream) Hooper in a 155-pound bout on a UFC Fight Night card March 28 in Seattle.

The 26-year-old Hooper (16-4-1) is coming off a TKO loss to fellow American Alexander (The Great Ape) Hernandez at UFC 319 in August. That snapped a five-fight win streak and dropped his UFC record to 8-4-0.

Despite the split-decision loss to American King Green in Las Vegas, Gibson made it into the UFC record book.

His father, Lance Sr., fought in UFC 24 and 29 in 2000, defeating Jermaine (Bam Bam) Andre and losing to Evan Tanner. The Gibsons join Randy and Ryan Couture and Gilbert and Elijah Smith as father-and-son duos to compete in the mixed martial arts promotion.

Gibson’s father and stepmother Julia (The Jewel) Budd, a former Bellator featherweight champion, were in his corner at the UFC Apex, now known as the Meta Apex, in December.

Because of the short notice, the Gibson-Green fight was contested at a catchweight of 160 pounds rather than the normal 156-pound lightweight non-title limit. Both men weighed in at 158.5 pounds.

Gibson went 5-1-0 in the Bellator promotion from 2019 to 2023, then asked for his release to focus on getting into the UFC. He subsequently won twice on local Washington state cards, while staying in shape in case a short-notice UFC call-up came along.

The main event at Climate Pledge Arena in March sees former middleweight champion Israel (The Last Stylebender) Adesanya take on American Joe (Bodybagz) Pyfer

Adesanya, 36, is ranked sixth among middleweight contenders but has lost four of his last outings, including the last three. The Nigerian-born New Zealander was stopped by France’s Nassourdine (The Sniper) Abdoulazimovich last time out in February 2025.

Adesanya (24-5-0) had gone 8-4-0 in his previous 12 bouts, all of which had a title on the line.

Pyfer (15-3-0) has won his last three outings, including a KO win over Canadian Marc-Andre (Power Bar) Barriault in June 2024, and is 6-1-0 in the UFC since earning his contract on “Dana White’s Contender Series.”

The 29-year-old is ranked 15th among middleweight contenders.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 23, 2026

The Canadian Press