Missed Fists: UFC vet Viscardi Andrade gets back in win column with thunderous KO

Welcome to the latest edition of Missed Fists where we shine a light on fights from across the globe that may have been overlooked in these hectic times where it seems like there’s an MMA show every other day.

We can’t tell you what the “RCC” in RCC Boxing Promotions stands for, but if you told us it’s an acronym for Ridiculously Concussive Combat, we’d believe you based on some of the highlights from last Saturday’s show in Ekaterinburg, Russia.

Viscardi Andrade vs. Sergei Martynov
Ilyas Khamzin vs. Oleg Naidenov
Irina Alekseeva vs. Gulnara Garaeva

AL: I can imagine there were a lot of disappointed Derrick Lewis fans out there this weekend who were hoping to see “The Black Beast” work his usual swangin’ and bangin’ magic. It didn’t work out for him, but former UFC welterweight Viscardi Andrade (competing here at 185 pounds) did his best impression against Sergei Martynov and the results were much more satisfying.

JM: Did you know that Viscardi Andrade has a win over Elizeu Zaleski? That is shocking to me considering how good Zaleski is and how forgettable Andrade’s run in the UFC was.

AL: Here it is, from March 2012!

JM: Andrade also has losses to Iuri Alcantara, Leandro Silva, and Charles Oliveira on his record so the fact that now he’s a middleweight despite losing to a bantamweight is really interesting. Especially since he clearly has major power at middleweight.

AL: I’m just glad that follow-up left didn’t connect. Yeesh.

At 35, we probably won’t be seeing Andrade back in the UFC anytime soon, but if he keeps putting out highlights like this, he’ll always have a home at MF.

JM: Moving on to more regional Russian violence, we’ve been doing this a long time now, what would you say my favorite thing is, besides a blatant disregard for the rules?

AL: I don’t know, you love seeing people get kicked in the beanbag so much, anything else would have to be a distant second.

JM: True. Cheating is the greatest foundation for MMA success. For life success, really.

But no. The thing I love almost as much as blatant disregard for the rules, is a blatant disregard for a human being’s guts, and Ilyas Khamzin had that in spades this weekend.

Look at this poor sap. He knows it’s over, tries to verbally tap, and then runs away before falling down.

AL: As boring as this sounds, I admired the officiating here. We dump on poor refs a lot (especially on the regional and international scene) so it’s only fair that we point out when one is on the ball, so Vyacheslav Perskiy, we salute you. He immediately recognizes the verbal submission and even grabs Khamzin’s right arm to prevent him from drilling Oleg Naidenov again, allowing Naidenov to collapse in peace.

Before we move on, here’s another fine stoppage, this one dictated by one of the fighters:

Featherweight Irina Alekseeva was putting an absolute whomping on Gulnara Garaeva and while it was evident to her that Garaeva was done for, Garaeva wasn’t in any position to make that clear to the referee. So it fell upon Alekseeva to relay that information, literally stopping the fight herself.

JM: Talk about great sportsmanship. The referee would have been totally within reason to let that fight keep going as Garaeva was still engaging her legs and trying to defend. Excellent stuff from Alekseeva.

Also, shout out to Tapology for marking that as a win by “Refusal to Fight”.

The RCC Intro 3 event is available to replay for free on YouTube.

Christian Lohsen vs. Wesley Golden
Philip Rowe vs. Matt McKeon
Arymarcel Santos vs. Robert Turnquest

AL: Up next, from Island Fights 53 in Ft. Walton Beach, Fla., last Wednesday, a rarely seen submission:

JM: First off, that was obviously awesome. I desperately try to do ridiculous things like banana splits in the gym all the time and never succeed so Christian Lohsen pulling one off in a fight against a real opponent is obviously incredible. But...

AL: Hold on, hold on. Why am I getting deja vu right now?

JM: I suppose that’s because apparently time is a flat circle and we are just reliving last week.

That’s two in two weeks, and either the apocalypse is approaching or Lohsen read MF and was like, “Alright, time to get me some shine.”

AL: I’m going to go as far as to say that the UFC Fight Pass social media folks also read our feature and the caption is another sly nod. We see you!

When I think “island”, I think relaxing on a beach drinking something out of a coconut, not nasty submissions like this one:

Here, Philip Rowe catches Matt McKeon with an ugly guillotine (look at the angle that McKeon’s head is at when they fall to the mat!), but I wish this clip also showed the dancing Rowe was doing before in the stand-up and then his Stone Cold Steve Austin strut around the ring after getting the tap-out. That’s five straight now for Rowe (6-2), so let’s hope we see more of this 28-year-old welterweight soon.

JM: What I really want to talk about is Rowe’s pants. Now those are some fight shorts! My man came to the ring in threads fresh from the early ‘90s. His shorts look like the background for the Fresh Prince DVD box set. The UFC’s deal with Reebok is the worst thing to ever happen to this sport because look at all the majesty we are missing.

AL: Rowe’s nickname actually is “The Fresh Prince” so he’s on point.

JM: Wow. Not gonna lie, I had no idea but now it all makes sense. That’s a man I could share a beer with.

You can check out Rowe’s shorts and the rest of his performance at Island Fights 53 on UFC Fight Pass.

Suakim PK Saenchaimuaythaigym vs. Thalisson Gomes Ferreira
Tenshin Nasukawa vs. Fedrico Roma

JM: Speaking of guys who need a beer, Suakim (long last name that is really just the Thai gym he fights out of because that’s how these things work in Thailand) and Thalisson Gomes Ferreira deserve all the beers after their absolute war at the Rise World Series 2019 event in Tokyo this past Sunday.

This fight was seven minutes of anarchy, culminating in the teep kick to the body KO for our mononymic friend.

This was unquestionably the best fight of the weekend.

AL: Not only did Suakim deliver the goods in this Rise tournament, but the win moved him into the semifinals where he’s apparently facing some kid named (checks notes) Tenshin Nasukawa.

He’s a boxer or something, right?

JM: He’s a motherfriggin’ force of nature, that’s what he is. We don’t need to talk about this too much because The Site already covered Tenshin’s violent sorcery, and also because the words haven’t been invented yet to adequately capture the brilliance.

AL: I do have one question: Why the pose? Just… why do that to a man?

JM: It’s called establishing dominance. It’s a big time alpha move. And he’s only 20. Just wait a couple years and Tenshin will be peeing in the ring in the middle of the fight to mark his territory.

Donovan Wisse vs. Matej Penaz
D’Angelo Marshall vs. Daniel Skvor

JM: I guess some other things happened this weekend and even if they weren’t as cool as Tenshin, they did merge a few of the things I love and have already discussed in this column into one event: hot pants and gut ripping shots.

From Glory 64 (on UFC Fight Pass) in Strasbourg, France, last Saturday:

Donovan Wisse put a straight right to the body that probably has Matej Penaz still clutching his liver.

AL: I cannot blame Penaz for taking a comfy spot on the mat there and just letting the referee count him out.

The same can be said for Daniel Skvor, who was on the wrong end of a rocket right hand from D’Angelo Marshall that caused Skvor to need a minute to himself mid-fight.

If it were possible for a coherent thought to be running through Skvor’s head at that moment, it would be something like, “Well, alright sir, I was not aware that our disagreement was that serious. The day is yours.”

JM: This fight shows the one thing boxing and kickboxing have on MMA: the count.

I get that giving fighters a 10-count to get back up and continue fighting is anathema to MMA — and it should be! — but look at how badass Marshall looks just cooling it in the corner with his leg on the rope waiting for this poor unconscious man to be declared done.

Erick Garibay vs. Ulises Palomares

Ooh, I’ve been waiting for this.

Last week, Combate Americas head honcho Campbell McLaren decided he wanted to start a feud with me on Twitter because I said one of the fighters from Combate deserved a look from a “bigger promotion”.

This week, I’m doubling down and declaring that the 2-1 Erick Garibay deserves a look from one of the BIGGER PROMOTIONS purely off the basis of this absolutely devastating knee (and my spite.)

Don’t pull on Superman’s cape, Campbell, or you’ll get the horns. That’s right UFC founder, I like my metaphors like I like my martial arts: mixed.

AL: I just want to make it clear that I am in no way part of this feud, Mr. McLaren. I respect you, booker man. Especially when your promotion is producing fine acts of aggression like the one above. Ulises Palomares, gotta know what the rules for a grounded opponent are in Guadalajara!

JM: To be fair to Ulysses, even UFC champions are confused about the rules in the fight capital of the world so I can forgive Palomares for not knowing to stay down there. Fortunately, now he doesn’t have to remember because he is permanently down inside of that cage, God rest his soul.

AL: Let me reiterate that we wish only the best of health to all the fighters in our features as well as the brilliant and handsome promoters who employ them.

Combate Americas 32 is available for replay on DAZN.

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If you know of a recent fight or event that you think may have been overlooked or a promotion that could use some attention, please let us know on Twitter @JedKMeshew and @AlexanderKLee using the hashtag #MissedFists.