Preview: UFC on ESPN 56 Prelims

The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday will head back to St. Louis for the first time in more than six years with UFC on ESPN 56, which brings a decent preliminary slate to the Enterprise Center. The featured spot goes to a classic striker-versus-grappler matchup, as Viacheslav Borshchev and Chase Hooper look to quickly get to their strengths while avoiding those of the opponent. Meanwhile, Terrance McKinney gets back to business for an all-action battle with Esteban Ribovics, though the most interesting subplot on the undercard might be the return of Tecia Pennington, who looks to pick up where she left off at strawweight against Tabatha Ricci. Beyond that, the opener between J.J. Aldrich and Veronica Hardy represents an interesting litmus test for two veteran flyweights.

Now to the preview for the UFC on ESPN 56 prelims:

Lightweights

Viacheslav Borshchev (7-3-1, 2-2-1 UFC) vs. Chase Hooper (13-3-1, 5-3 UFC)

ODDS: Borshchev (-142), Hooper (+120)

Much was made of Hooper signing with the UFC, mostly owing to his getting on the promotion’s radar as such a young age. He was on the Contender Series at age 18 and made his UFC debut a little over a year later, all while exuding a particularly youthful energy. As a fighter, “The Dream” has unsurprisingly had to learn on the job. He’s a talented grappler who can grab some impressive submissions from some unorthodox positions, but his height has often worked to his disadvantage as a striker, leaving him stiff and defensively open. Hooper alternated wins and losses and survived some beatings through the durability of youth as a featherweight, but after quickly getting shellacked by Steve Garcia late in 2022, he moved up to lightweight and looked better for it. Nick Fiore and Jordan Leavitt haven’t provided much resistance as strikers, but Hooper still looked much improved on the feet during the moments he wasn’t trying to initiate things on the ground. Borshchev certainly has the potential to test Hooper’s striking, depending on how this fight turns out. Borshchev’s a fun striker who has also kept his head above water while in the UFC, but his game has been one-dimensional enough that opponents have taken him out of it quite often. Marc Diakiese and Mike Davis each made wins over “Slava Claus” look surprisingly easy just by leaning on their wrestling. Borshchev tends to pick his shots, so there’s a chance he gives Hooper enough initiative to get this to the ground quickly. However, Hooper also offers enough defensive openings that Borshchev could blow this fight open quite quickly. The pick is Borshchev via first-round knockout.

Jump To »
Hooper vs. Borshchev
Ribovics vs. McKinney
Ricci vs. Pennington
Waters vs. Goff
Hadley vs. Johnson
Jousset vs. Gooden
Hardy vs. Aldrich