Brazilian striker, Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos’ second consecutive victory this evening against promotional newcomer, Benoit Saint Denis was marred and overshadowed by a truly incompetent refereeing display from official, Vyacheslav Kiselev — who failed to bring an end to the contest in the second round with Saint Denis absorbing significant punishment.
Vyacheslav Kiselev overshadows Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos win with brutal referring display
Kiselev, who officiated his first fight of this evening’s UFC 267, and likely his last of this weekend, was heavily criticized for his officiating in the second round bout between dos Santos and Saint Denis, as he allowed the latter to absorb a grueling level of punishment against the fence, as he was wobbled and swarmed upon by dos Santos throughout the middle stages of the frame.
dos Santos even beckoned Kiselev to call a halt to the affair following a lengthy barrage at the event, however, it proved fruitless, with the official allowing the bout to continue.
In the third round, Saint Denis explained to Kiselev following an inadvertent eye-poke from dos Santos, exclaiming that he “could not see” and rather than call a timeout and consult the Octagon-side physician for Saint Denis, he allowed the bout to continue.
Later in the frame, dos Santos appeared to land another unintentional foul, this time a groin strike at the Octagon fence, which resulted in a rather bizarre point deduction from Kiselev — with the latter going on to score a completely one-sided 29-26 unanimous decision across all three judges scorecards.
Secures his 9th win in the UFC
@ElizeuCapoeira goes the distance to get back into the win column!
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— UFC (@ufc) October 30, 2021
