UFC St. Louis: Derrick Lewis vs. Rodrigo Nascimento continues the prelims with a fight in the lightweight division between Chase Hooper and Viacheslav Borshchev. Hooper has now won back-to-back fights for the first time in his UFC career meanwhile, Borshchev's last fight ended in a majority draw after the judges couldn't decide on a clear winner. With that said, check out our UFC odds series for our Hooper-Borshchev prediction and pick.

Chase Hooper (13-3-1) has looked like a brand-new fighter since moving up in weight to the lightweight division. He has now rattled off two wins in a row which is the longest winning streak in his UFC career most recently submitting Jordan Leavitt in his last fight. Hooper will now look to extend his winning streak to three when he takes on “Slava Clause” Viacheslav Borshchev this weekend at UFC St. Louis.

Viacheslav Borshchev (7-3-1) is coming off a majority draw in his last fight against Nazim Sadykhov a rare draw that didn't include a point deduction. That brings Borshchev's record to just 1-2-1 over his last four fights. He will have his back against the wall when he takes the resurging Chase Hooper this weekend at UFC St. Louis.

Here are the UFC St. Louis Odds, courtesy of BetOnline. 

UFC St. Louis Odds: Chase Hooper-Viacheslav Borshchev Odds

Chase Hooper: +120

Viacheslav Borshchev: -140

Over 1.5 rounds: -130

Under 1.5 rounds: +100

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Why Chase Hooper Will Win

Chase Hooper has made some strides since he decided to move up to lightweight after a brutal knockout loss to Steve Garcia in his last fight at featherweight. In his new division, Hooper has shown he can take a punch better and has more strength along with his cardio to push through adversity than before. Now, Hooper gets to show the fans that he is a lightweight to watch out for when he takes on Viacheslav Borshchev this weekend at UFC St. Louis.

Hooper is at his best when he's getting ahold of his opponents and dragging them to the mat and making the fight a grueling type of grappling match something he must do against Borshchev in this matchup. Borshchev is a world-class kickboxing champion but his biggest weakness in his MMA career has been his takedown and grappling defense. It will be up to Hooper to not engage in a kickboxing match, get on the inside, and take Borshchev down and submit him on the mat. If he can do this he will notch win number six in his UFC career and extend his winning streak to three.

Why Viacheslav Borshchev Will Win

Viacheslav Borshchev secured his contract on the Contender Series with a brutal knockout of Chris Duncan. He then started his UFC career with a live shot knockout of Dakota Bush only to be 1-2-1 in his next four fights. His back is now against the wall when he takes on Chase Hooper in a lightweight matchup this weekend at UFC St. Louis.

Borshchev is the striking coach for the well-renowned Team Alpha Male spearheaded by UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber. He has a high-level kickboxing pedigree with championships in other parts of the country however that skillset hasn't translated all that well to MMA as his grappling is still his biggest drawback. Even though he trains at a wrestling-heavy gym like TAM he's still had trouble defending those takedowns. Luckily for Borshchev, Hooper while is a great BJJ fighter isn't the best offensive wrestler or a great athlete like the past three opponents who had success in the grappling against him. As long as Borshchev can defend the takedowns it's his fight to lose in this matchup.

Final Derrick Lewis-Viacheslav Borshchev Prediction & Pick

This is one of the more intriguing fights on the fight card because it's a binary matchup where if the fight stays on the feet Hooper gets knocked out but if the fight hits the mat Borshchev gets submitted. While Hooper may not be a plus athlete or the best offensive wrestler as long as he doesn't get knocked out on the feet early he should be able to get Borschev down to the mat at some point in the fight and from there that is when it will be Hooper taking advantage advancing from position to position eventually snatching a submission in transition as Borshchev attempts to get up as Hooper notches his third win in the lightweight division and third win in a row.

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Final Chase Hooper-Viacheslav Borshchev Prediction & Pick: Chase Hooper (+120), Over 1.5 Rounds (-130)