MMA fans couldn’t contain their disgust at the sanctioning of the fight and took to social media to slam the promotion.
One tweeted: “Russian MMA never ceases to shock me. How bizarre this is on all levels.”
Another said: “What the f**k is going on with MMA in Russia?!”
Epic Fighting Championship‘s latest card also featured a two-on-one intergender match-up featuring a 75-year-old man and his grandson.
Vladimir Spartak and his grandson Big Igibob locked horns with 28-year-old Yulia Mishko in a WWE-esque handicap match.
But despite their advantage, the pair were resoundingly beaten by Mishko – who dropped her opponents a combined total of three times.
Stepakova found some brief respite when an audience member ran into the cage and kicked the blubbery Chistyakov in the back.
The freak show of a fight promptly resumed after the unexpected interlude and Stepakova managed to avoid being held down by her opponent for the remainder of the round – although she did eat some solid punches for her troubles.metasports
Stepakova tried her best to overturn Chistyakov‘s advantage in the third, but was unable to overcome the size difference.
Stepakova, understandably, struggled to deal with her hulking opponent – who kept her pressed against the cage for large portions of the early proceedings.
But the 29-year-old eventually managed to break free from the shackles of Chistyakov and returned fire with a deluge of punches and kicks.
However, it wasn‘t long before Chistyakov closed the distance and used every inch of his huge frame to once again smother Stepakova against the fence.