It could have been a night Eduardo Henrique da Silva dos Santos, or simply Eduardo Chapolin, would have remembered for a long time. Yet, for a silly mistake, he ruined what would have been a golden memory.
Making his UFC debut on short notice, the Brazilian, instead of impressing the UFC top brass and justifying their decision to enroll him, ended up embarrassing them after he made an illegal move during their flyweight-turned-catchweight bout against veteran Charles Johnson. It didn’t take long for the referee Jason Herzog to punish him for using the illegal tactic in the penultimate fight of the preliminary segment at UFC 330, headlined by Islam Makhachev and Ian Garry.
“Chapolin was dominating Charles Johnson and then illegally kneed him on the ground. What a stupid move,” Adam Martin noted on X. “Jason Herzog took 1 point from Chapolin for the illegal knee/eye poke, which is good to see.”
The veteran journalist’s frustration, likely shared by many others, stems from what happened in the bout. Despite it being his first bout, Chapolin, without showing any sign of nervousness, started off on a strong note and put Johnson on the back foot, thwarting the American’s repeated takedown attempts.
Things, however, got nasty later in the round when Chapolin poked Johnson’s eye. The American, it seems, expected Herzog to pause the action. But that did not happen. As a result, he absorbed more punishment, including a takedown.
Chapolin was dominating Charles Johnson and then illegally kneed him on the ground. What a stupid move. #UFC330
The move that shocked everyone soon followed when the Buritama, São Paulo-native threw a kick at Johnson as he tried to get up from the ground after a grappling exchange. This time, however, Herzog took notice and immediately deducted a point from Chapolin.