Fight fans outraged as 240kg man defeats woman in MMA bout
Combat sports fans are up in arms after footage from an intergender fight between a strawweight female fighter and a 240 kilo heavyweight went viral over the weekend.
The fight, promoted by Russian MMA organisation Epic Fighting Championship, was not the first bizarre intergender spectacle the promotion has hosted, but it left fans with a similar feeling of unease as the fight ended in a predictable farce.
'HOLY SH*T': The Rock goes nuts over Tai Tuivasa's 'insane' KO
'ABSOLUTELY BONKERS': UFC world erupts over 'insane' moment
Aleksandra Stepakova spent the majority of the fight trying to escape from being pressed against the cage by the substantially larger Grigory Chistyakov.
massive Grigory Chistyakov vs female strawweight Aleksandra Stepakova ends in a decision. you can see on Aleksanda face no fake punches here . #popMMA pic.twitter.com/5kh3rKEl64
— Matysek (@Matysek88) February 9, 2022
Despite Stepakova occasionally breaking free and attempting to land a series and kicks and punches, her efforts were largely brushed aside by Chistyakov.
The comical spectacle started to resemble a WWE match rather than a genuine sporting contest (if you could call this legitimate) when a fan jumped into the cage and started attempting to throw punches at Chistyakov.
The fight sparked an outcry on social media, but it wasn't the only grotesque fight the Epic Fighting Championship hosted over the weekend.
An earlier bout saw a tag team fight featuring a 75-year-old man and his son taking on a lone female fighter, 28-year-old Yulia Mishko.
MMA fans furious after bizarre intergender fight card
It was a similarly bizarre spectacle which resulted in Mishko getting the win, after securing three knockdowns.
Vladimir Spartak and his grandson Big Igibob evidently had little chance of overcoming Mishko, who won the fight in resounding fashion.
“Russian MMA never ceases to shock me. How bizarre this is on all levels," one fan said on Twitter, while the grotesque card prompted all kinds of other criticism.
This is proof women and men don't belong in the ring together. The guy is 300+ pounds out of shape and I doubt he trained because he was gassed after the first swing. He threw the slowest most ledgable strikes possible and didn't throw combos and she was still eating them.
— Gravedigger432 (@DillonWigmore) February 10, 2022
Anyone know the pay? That decides if I’m mad
— Nick (@ChubbyChub216) February 10, 2022
Is he fighting a woman? Wtf?
— Lord Dan 🎸 (@DanWeeksMusic) February 10, 2022
Incredibly, this wasn't Chistyakov's first intergender MMA circus.
Back in 2021 he took on, and lost to, 4-1 professional Darina Madzyuk - who later went on to score a contract with Bellator MMA.
Click here to sign up to our newsletter for all the latest and breaking stories from Australia and around the world.
