Viacheslav Borshchev wants Chase Hooper rematch after UFC on ESPN 62 win: ‘I did not tap last fight’

Viacheslav Borshchev turns his attention back to Chase Hooper, claiming he never tapped in their first UFC showdown.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Viacheslav Borshchev[/autotag] wants his next fight to be one he’s already had.

Following his UFC on ESPN 62 win Saturday, Borshchev (8-4-1 MMA, 3-3-1 UFC) said his main goal is to re-up with the promotion on a new contract. It was unclear if his previous fight marked the end of a deal or if the next one will.

Regardless, Borshchev is fixated on trying to get a rematch of the fight prior, a submission loss to [autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag] – one he said was not officiated properly.

“I really want a rematch with Chase Hooper,” Borshchev told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference Saturday. “… I know I might not really deserve it yet because my last opponent was… I hope you enjoyed it, but it wasn’t that good as I expected. So I might need to deserve this rematch and I’m OK with this, as long as the UFC will give me this opportunity.”

The initial fight between Borshchev and Hooper (14-3-1 MMA, 6-3 UFC) took place in May. The official result was Hooper by second-round D’Arce choke. Borshchev appeared to slap the back of Hooper as the choke sank in and the two fighters rolled. Referee Keith Peterson saw the solo pat as a sign of submission and waved off the fight, but Borshchev immediately protested.

“With all respect to Chase, I wish him only the best, no complaining,” Borshchev said. “But I did not tap last fight. I know he knows it. I know it. I did not tap. This keeps bothering me but it also keeps me going.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 62.

UFC on ESPN 62 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Program total passes $28 million

The UFC has now paid athletes more than $28 million in Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay after UFC on ESPN 62.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 62 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $166,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC on ESPN 62 took place at the UFC Apex. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN 62 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Caio Borralho[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Tabatha Ricci[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Ryan Loder[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Robert Valentin[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Mairon Santos[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Kaan Ofli[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Michael Morales[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Gerald Meerschaert[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Edmen Shahbazyan[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Francis Marshall[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Dennis Buzukja[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Zach Reese[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jose Medina[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Viacheslav Borshchev[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]James Llontop[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jacqueline Cavalcanti[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Josiane Nunes[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Wang Cong[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Victoria Leonardo[/autotag]: $4,500

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,620; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $32,000 while title challengers get $42,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-62 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $5,324,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $28,061,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 62.

UFC on ESPN 56 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: 2024 total passes $3 million

UFC on ESPN 56 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

ST. LOUIS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 56 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $186,000.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC on ESPN 56 took place at Enterprise Arena. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN 56 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Rodrigo Nascimento[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Nursulton Ruziboev[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Carlos Ulberg[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Alonzo Menifield[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Diego Ferreira[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Mateusz Rebecki[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Sean Woodson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Waldo Cortes-Acosta[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Robelis Despaigne[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Viacheslav Borshchev[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Esteban Ribovics[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Terrance McKinney[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Tabatha Ricci[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Tecia Pennington[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Trey Waters[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Billy Ray Goff[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Charles Johnson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jake Hadley[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Veronica Hardy[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]JJ Aldrich[/autotag]: $6,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,560; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $56,000 while title challengers get $56,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-56 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $3,106,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $25,843,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 56.

Chase Hooper def. Viacheslav Borshchev at UFC on ESPN 56: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Chase Hooper’s second-round submission win over Viacheslav Borshchev at UFC on ESPN 56.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag]’s second-round submission win over [autotag]Viacheslav Borshchev[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 56 at Enterprise Center in St. Louis. (Fight and venue photos by Jeff Le, USA Today Sports)

UFC on ESPN 56 video: Chase Hooper scores first knockdown, submits Viacheslav Borshchev, calls out Paddy Pimblett

Chase Hooper showed he’s more than a submission-only guy at UFC on ESPN 56 when he scored a career first knockdown on Viacheslav Borshchev.

[autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag] showed he’s more than a submission-only guy Saturday when he scored a career first by knocking down [autotag]Viacheslav Borshchev[/autotag] en route to victory at UFC on ESPN 56.

Viewed by most as having a significant striking disadvantage, Hooper (14-3-1 MMA, 6-3 UFC)came out and knocked Borshchev (7-4-1 MMA, 2-3-1 UFC) down early with a punch in the lightweight bout at Enterprise Center in St. Louis. “The Dream” pounced on his opponent and spent several minutes landing ground-and-pound as well as threatening with submissions.

Borshchev showed incredible resilience by surviving the round, but he mets his demise in the second. Hooper continued to maul him on the mat until locked in an D’Arce choke at the 3:00 mark of Round 2. Borshchev claimed he didn’t tap, but replay show he did and Hooper was announced the winner.

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Check out the replay of the knockdown and final sequence below (via X):

Now 3-0 since moving up to 155 pounds from featherweight in May 2023, Hooper said he’s looking upward in the division, and sees Paddy Pimblett as an interesting challenge.

“I’ve been working hard to show I belong here,” Hooper said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “Honestly, I think I’m moving my way up the lightweight division. There’s a certain British fellow (Paddy Pimblett) at 155. I didn’t like his performance against a legend (in Tony Ferguson).

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 56 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 56.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC, PFL, Bellator fights announced in the past week (Feb. 26-March 3)

Check out the UFC, PFL and Bellator fights that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC, PFL, and Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Feb. 26-March 3.

UFC adds Viacheslav Borshchev vs. Chase Hooper for May

UFC lightweights Viacheslav Borshchev and Chase Hooper will battle – but not at the UFC Apex.

[autotag]Viacheslav Borshchev[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag] has been added to the UFC docket.

The three-round lightweight showdown is expected to take place at a UFC Fight Night event on May 11. The frontrunner location for the event is St. Louis.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Borshchev (7-3-1 MMA, 2-2-1 UFC) enters the bout off a Fight of the Night bonus-earning draw vs. Nazim Sadykhov at UFC 295 in November. The thrilling bout moved him to 1-2-1 in his most recent four bouts.

Hooper (13-3-1 MMA, 5-3 UFC) went undefeated in 2023 at 2-0 with a unanimous decision win over Nick Fiore and a first-round submission of Jordan Leavitt.

With the addition, the UFC Fight Night lineup for May 11 includes:

  • Jake Hadley vs. Charles Johnson
  • Terrance McKinney vs. Esteban Ribovics
  • Alonzo Menifield vs. Carlos Ulberg
  • Tabatha Ricci vs. Tecia Torres
  • Matt Frevola vs. Michael Johnson
  • Jared Gooden vs. Kevin Jousset
  • Viacheslav Borshchev vs. Chase Hooper

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Nazim Sadykhov focused on excitement, not immediate Slava Borshchev rematch: ‘Maybe down the road’

Nazim Sadykhov and Viacheslav Borshchev turned in an instant classic Nov. 11 in New York, but don’t expect them to run it back any time soon.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Nazim Sadykhov[/autotag] and [autotag]Viacheslav Borshchev[/autotag] turned in an instant classic Nov. 11 at UFC 295 in New York, but don’t expect them to run it back any time soon.

The two fighters engaged in a back-and-forth brawl that ended in a draw – and a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus. However, both fighters seem to want fresh matchups, at least in the immediate.

“I don’t have an exclusive thing where I have to get this one back,” Sadykhov recently told MMA Junkie on the red carpet before the 15th Annual World MMA Awards at Sahara Theater. “He’s that good that he’s probably going to be in the top 10. And inshallah, I’m going to be in the top 10 as well. Maybe down the road (we’ll fight again), but right now I just want to keep fighting, keep going, and see where my road takes me.

“I’m not dying for a rematch. … Not right now. But both of those fights, including this one right here with ‘Slava Claus’, it’s possible in the future. But right now, we just keep moving forward and take other fights.”

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Sadykhov isn’t salty about the draw. Why? Because he went back and watched, and thought the judges got it right. There’s room for improvement for sure. Sadykhov is optimistic necessary changes will be made ahead of his next fight.

“I got a couple of bumps and bruises from the fight, but I’m just so happy the MMA world reacted the way that they did. I’m happy that the fans enjoyed the fight and that’s it. That’s what I’m here for: the big fights, the good fights, the exciting fights, the Fight of the Month, the Fight of the Year, the Fight of the Night. That’s what Nazim Sadykhov is here for.

“… We’re already working on (my next fight). As long as I’m healthy, I’m going to be fighting. As long as I’m fighting, there’s going to be excitement. I’m looking for a March-April return. Perhaps UFC 300. Perhaps a Fight Night or something in March. But we’re targeting March and April right now.”

Viacheslav Borshchev happy with UFC 295 draw vs. Nazim Sadykhov: ‘I was almost killed in the second round’

Viacheslav Borshchev won’t complain about the result of his UFC 295 Fight of the Night with Nazim Sadykhov after he was nearly finished.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Viacheslav Borshchev[/autotag] won’t complain about the result of his UFC 295 Fight of the Night with Nazim Sadykhov.

Borshchev (7-3-1 MMA, 2-2-1 UFC) and Sadykhov (9-1-1 MMA, 2-0-1 UFC) put on a lightweight triller at Madison Square Garden in New York that ended in a majority draw. Both men took some hard knocks in the fight, and in the end, the judges could not decide a winner.

The majority of the damage taken was on Borshchev’s side. He was badly hurt and nearly stopped with strikes in the second round, but managed to survive and come back and claim the final frame to conclude MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month for November.

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“I felt great after the fight was over,” Borshchev told MMA Junkie. “I felt like I was winning and would’ve had the scores, but I was almost killed in the second round. I don’t think I’ve ever been that close to being finished. That’s why I was happy with the draw.”

Despite the lack of a winner in the fight, Borshchev admits he’s not keen to find resolution with Sadykhov. He would be open to a rematch down the line, but thinks plenty of other opponents at 155 pounds make sense, too.

“There’s no reason for this (rematch). We’re here because we want to make money. There’s no way I’m going to fight this monster again. You’d have to pay really well to fight this guy. It has to be something like a title fight or a main event. There’s no reason (for a rematch). We both have to get higher.”

 

MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month for November: UFC 295 slugfest ends in a draw

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from November 2023.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from November 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for November.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.

Nominees