UFC St. Louis saw some of the most brutal injuries in recent times. Lightweight Viacheslav Borshchev clashed with opponent Chase Hooper in the featured bout of the prelims. Borshchev lost the fight via submission and in what could be an unfortunate defeat.
During the fight, Hooper dominated for the most part. In the end, Viacheslav Borshchev developed a massive bump on his forehead. With all the blood spurting out of his face, the visuals were fairly graphic. However, given the brutality of the sport, it’s not the first time fans have seen something like this.
On paper, Borshchev was the superior attacker, but Hooper struck first with a huge overhand left. This startled and put the Russian to the ground. After leaping to the top fast, Hooper suffocated Borshchev for the duration of the round with punches, elbows, and numerous submission attempts.
In the second round, Chase Hooper continued his onslaught, swiftly bringing the fight to the ground and maintaining dominance over Borshchev. After that, the American lightweight got a D’Arce choke on Borshchev, leading to the referee stopping the fight. However, the stoppage did attract a lot of controversy amongst the fight fans and experts.
Former UFC champion reacts to stoppage of Viacheslav Borshchev vs. Chase Hooper
In the second round, due to the frequent domination from Chase Hopper, the referee, Keith Peterson, repeatedly warned to stop the fight. After Hooper’s D’Arce choke, Peterson stopped the fight when it seemed like Borshchev had tapped once as they were rolling. However, Borshchev immediately objected and said he had never stopped fighting.
Aljamain Sterling reacts to controversial stoppage at UFC St. Louis (via UFC/MMA Fighting)
This stoppage created a controversy as many fighters and fans revealed that it was too early. Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling had something similar to say.
I don’t think he tapped but it wasn’t looking good. Just sucks to see it stopped early.
Aljamain Sterling via X
I don’t think he tapped but it wasn’t looking good. Just sucks to see it stopped early
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) May 11, 2024
Controversial decisions like this are extremely common in the UFC, and fans often complain about them. In the case of Hooper vs. Borshchev, the fight was so one-sided that Borshchev didn’t have to endure more damage. As such, there was not much outrage on the internet. In the past, such incidents have affected various highly significant fights. However, human errors like this are hard to tackle in combat sports.
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