A battle of two opposing styles went down between Chase Hooper and Viacheslav Borschchev for the featured prelim of UFC St. Louis.
Borschchev, better known as ‘Slava Claus’ had a kickboxing career before MMA and brings an exciting striking style to the cage. He has a grappling deficiency, but it has improved lately. The same can be said for Hooper’s striking; Chase was once the youngest fighter in the UFC, but at 24 he has grown into his long frame, moved up to lightweight, and had won his last two fights entering tonight. He continued that trend in the most impressive of fashions tonight.
Chase Hooper tried his hand at striking with Slava early on. Against all odds he landed an overhand left that knocked down Borschchev. Hooper jumped on the back and looked for the rear naked choke at first, then got into mount when Viacheslav turned over. A constant stream of hammerfists and elbows beat up Slava Claus badly, but the referee never seemed close to stopping the fight. He transitioned to the back, and then again to full mount.
The referee almost stopped it after another onslaught but Borschchev did just enough to stay alive. He escaped to half-guard but Chase Hopper stayed on top. When Slava almost got up, Hooper locked up an improbable reverse triangle choke. The position stayed static with Viacheslav somehow not going unconscious, even as the choke got increasingly tightened.
After a clear 10-8 or 10-7 in round one, Chase Hooper came out and took him down into an inverted crucifix to start round two. He ended up in full mount again after a scramble and dropped down elbows on Slava Claus. Again he transitioned fluidly between mount and back mount, raining down ground and pound. Slava Claus just barely moved enough to survive every time the referee warned him, but at long last Hooper transitioned to a d’Arce choke which finally ended the fight.
Slava Claus said he never tapped, but with a goose egg popping out of his forehead, a stoppage at any time for the last several minutes would have been reasonable. Now on a three-fight winning streak and improving all the time, Chase Hooper is on the verge of becoming a contender, just in time for his soon-to-be born child.
Official Result: Chase Hooper def. Viacheslav Borschchev by Submission (d’Arce Choke), Round 2, 3:00
