An intergender matchup between Aleksandra Stepakova and Grigory Chistyakov raised many eyebrows around the sport of MMA.
EFC featured the matchup between female strawweight MMA fighter Stepakova against male heavyweight Chistyakov. To the surprise of many, Stepakova was able to go the distance and land a few brutal blows on the much larger and different gendered Chistyakov.
Chistyakov had his way early, pinning Stepakova against the fence and not allowing her to get free in the early minutes. However, Stepakova was able to break free and briefly find her footing with her striking.
Chistyakov entered the bout with no professional experience in MMA. Stepakova, on the other hand, made one professional appearance before the event. She lost via third-round TKO against Daria Bankina at Opiot Challenge 112 in Moscow, RU.
The intergender matchup is the latest in a series of eye-opening mismatches recently in MMA. This includes a wide physical disparity between two professional MMA fighters at Evolution of Combat 9 in September.
What is your reaction to this matchup?
