What is the MMA record of Vyacheslav Kiselev, the UFC 267 referee pulled from the event after negligent officiating?
According to Tapology, Vyacheslav Kiselev has an MMA record of 0-5. 'Big Slava' has never won an MMA fight in his career and has been finished in four out of his five losses.
Vyacheslav Kiselev was at the center of a serious controversy at UFC 267. The MMA referee was officiating the Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Benoit St. Denis fight that was taking place in the prelims of the event.
Santos was in control for the majority of the fight and was inflicting heavy damage on his opponent. The Brazilian landed multiple hard shots in the second round, to which St. Denis had no reply.
Despite that, referee Kiselev did not intervene and let the fight go on, causing St. Denis to take unnecessary damage. The fighter showed his toughness and heart, but many believed that the referee made a bad call and the fight should have been stopped earlier.
Santos ended up securing a decision win. All three judges scored the fight 29-26 in the Brazilian's favor.
The referee was criticized by many on social media for not protecting St. Denis and letting the fight go the distance.
UFC decided to step in after the fight and relieved Vyacheslav Kiselev from his duties for the rest of the event. 'Big Slava' was supposed to officiate a light heavyweight bout between Magomed Ankalev and Volkan Oezdemir but he was replaced by veteran referee Marc Goddard.
Marc Goddard will now referee the fight between Magomed Ankalaev vs. Volkan Oezdemir to open the #UFC267 main card after Vyacheslav Kisalev was removed from the event
Daniel Cormier blasts Vyacheslav Kiselev on social media
After watching the debacle, UFC commentator and former champion Daniel Cormier took to Twitter to criticize 'Big Slava'.
"Honestly the worst performance I have seen from a referee in my life. Honestly a hard job but man unreal. Makes you respect the good ones like @JasonHerzogMMA @JohnMcCarthyMMA @HerbDeanMMA and many more. I hated watching that I hope Benoit is heading to hospital right now!"
Honestly the worst performance I have seen from a referee in my life. Honestly a hard job but man unreal. Makes you respect the good ones like @JasonHerzogMMA @JohnMcCarthyMMA @HerbDeanMMA and many more. I hated watching that I hope Benoit is heading to hospital right now !
UFC president Dana White also shared his thoughts on the controversy, saying:
"We've had lots of incidents with referees. We've removed guys in the middle of cards too. But this was pretty bad. Horrible."