Missed Fists: A classic mismatch, a Polish pantsing, and a new ‘champ champ’ is crowned

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.

Let us never forget that first UFC events were free-for-all, no weight classes, minimal rules bonanzas that sought to not only prove whose martial arts style was superior, but that size and body type do not determine who is the best fighter.

With that said, let’s check out this horrific mismatch from a World Total Kombat Federation Show last Thursday in Moscow.

Vyacheslav Ryabov vs. Huseyn Karatash
Abusupyan Alikhanov vs. Mohammed Shavali
Baktybek Zhoodarbek vs. Ilgam Mamedov

AL: It makes sense that this show was titled “Universal Soldier”, because Vyacheslav Ryabov looks like something straight out of a government lab.

Huseyn Karatash has a physique that is comparatively less impressive, to put it kindly.

JM: He is all that is man. Fear him.

AL: Karatash, making his pro debut, fared poorly against the massive Ryabov, officially lasting just 19 seconds before doing the smart thing and staying down. It’s early, but I’m going to wager that Karatash is not about to Royce Gracie the Russian MMA scene anytime soon.

This tweet pretty much sums up what we just watched:

JM: But seriously and more importantly, check this wildness out!

This is some combination of an armbar and a compression choke by Abusupyan Alikhanov but I’m not sure which one gets the job done. Best I can tell, the straight armlock being applied by the legs is the culprit based off the way Mohammed Shavali is trying to elevate his hips for an angle to relieve pressure but I’m willing to be wrong on this one.

AL: I don’t know what that is, but it looks like it hurt like hell. Maybe it’s the arm, maybe it’s the neck, maybe it’s Alikhanov putting all of his weight on dude’s head. Whichever, no bueno.

We talked about spinning shit going wrong last week, well here we go again as Ilgam Mamedov risks it all, only to get dropped to the mat where Baktybek Zhoodarbek wastes no time beating him like a Cherokee drum.

JM: I tell ya, I’m giving him an A+ for effort.

Though the backfist came up woefully short, you’ve got to respect the Hail Mary kick he follows it with. Now sure, it didn’t work out even a little bit and he was subsequently beat about the head for his efforts, but that’s the problem with MMA today. All we do is focus on the negatives. Mamedov gave it the good old Chael Sonnen try and for that he should be applauded.

Phil De Fries vs. Tomasz Narkun
Aleksandar Ilic vs. Damian Janikowski

AL: It feels like it’s been too long since we’ve checked in on the world’s No. 1 MMA promotion Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki. They held KSW 47 in Lodz, Poland, this past weekend and readers should definitely check out the excellent coverage by our own Petesy Carroll.

He also wrote an outstanding feature about De Fries’s internal struggles and how he’s overcome them, but what we really want to talk about here is him getting his shorts pulled almost all the way down in his main event bout with Tomasz Narkun.

JM: That may be the most aggressive pantsing I’ve ever seen in MMA. Honestly, it doesn’t even look like he’s trying to do anything else.

Aside from the fact that grabbing the shorts is entirely illegal, he’s not even doing it in desperation or something. This looks like he just wanted to shorts him. I award Narkun full marks!

Speaking of full marks. Want to see a dead body?

Aleksandar Ilic killed Damian Janikowski with a picture perfect question mark kick. Seriously, that is exactly what you are going for with that technique. Feinting low to drop Janikowski’s hands and finishing high to drop his body into the river. Ferocious stuff there.

AL: Janikowski was probably going to win a decision before that third-round comeback kick, just one more sad scene for the Polish faithful on Saturday. Not only did Narkun and Janikowski fall short, but legendary strongman-turned-mound-of-muscle-in-a-cage Mariusz Pudzianowski also suffered a first-round TKO loss to Szymon Kolecki (a fellow Pole, so maybe it wasn’t all bad). Including Borys Mankowski, who lost to UFC and vet Norman Parke, Poland went 0-3 in home vs. visitor matchups.

Readers can share in the heartbreak themselves by checking out the PPV on FITE TV.

Casey Kenney vs. Vincent Cachero
Ramiz Brahimaj vs. Carlos Martinez

AL: I wanted to shine a light on two serious prospects from Legacy Fighting Alliance, Casey Kenney and Ramiz Brahimaj, the latter of whom has been featured in these hallowed cyber-pages before when he choked former UFC fighter William Macario unconscious last August.

Kenney, the LFA interim flyweight champion, challenged Vincent Cachero for a vacant interim bantamweight title in last Friday’s main event in Dallas, aiming to become the promotion’s first-ever “champ champ”. I spoke to this young man prior to the show and he was confident that a win, especially an impressive one, would guarantee that his next fight was in the UFC.

Well he impressed.

And it will be.

JM: He certainly did impress. And while getting the UFC call up is obviously well deserved, I’ve got to wonder if jumping in on a week’s notice against someone as good as Ray Borg is a great idea.

To be sure, Kenney will get another fight regardless of the outcome on Saturday, but that is a mighty tall task for your first outing.

Also, for anyone who missed it, he and Jordan Espinosa were the first fighters to ever receive a UFC ranking despite not competing in the promotion. Go check it out! Sure, they’re slowly killing the division entirely, but that’s a fun MMA factoid.

Would you like another fun MMA factoid? Ramiz Brahimaj ain’t nothing to eff with.

Brahimaj blasted the Geico Caveman with a right and and then choked him out with the quickness. Kenney might not be the only guy getting the UFC call soon.

Seietsu Kitahama vs. Takaki Hosogoe
Hiroki Naruo vs. Shoji Saito

AL: Stop me if I ever even suggest that I’m thinking of taking a kickboxing or Muay Thai bout. Because we saw some clips that weekend that have me scared straight. I’ll stay in the world of MMA where it’s safe, thank you very much.

Just look at this spin kick by Seitsu Kitahama on Takaki Hosogoe from RISE 131 in Tokyo on Saturday.

That could easily be one of us.

JM: It could not be because we would never have to fight someone good.

AL: I’ll do anything for money and I could easily see myself saying the wrong thing during a trip over there and accidentally ending up in the ring with, like, Hong Man Choi or something for a few hundred bucks.

JM: Much respect for Hosogoe though. I would’ve stayed curled up on the ground forever but he just sat up pouring blood from his face and looking to get back in the game.

The same can not be said for Shoji Saito though. This poor bastard may never get up again.

I know there are worse things than ducking into a head kick but for the life of me I can’t think of any of them right now.

AL: Shades of Aljamain Sterling shooting right into a Marlon Moraes kill shot, no?

Petchnarin vs. Saknarong

Meanwhile, at a MAX Muay Thai show over in Pattaya, Thailand, Petchnarin was victorious in the finals of a 58.5-kg (approx. 129 pounds) tournament.

And when I say, “was victorious”, I mean, “committed a homicide”:

JM: That. Was. Awesome. Man, we’ve had a lot of people getting deaded this week and let me tell ya, I’m totally for it. Like Ilic’s picture perfect question mark kick, Petchnarin’s check left hook was pristine. Caught Saknarong coming in and slept him.

That whole show is available for free on YouTube.

Sam Maxwell vs. Sabri Sediri

AL: Let’s take one step even further from MMA and head over to the young and exciting sport that has all the kids talking: boxing.

I’m being flippant, but if the sweet science produced more clips on the regular like this next one, we’d be seeing it in Missed Fists more often.

For some context (credit to Bloody Elbow), Sabri Sediri was feeling himself heading into the 10th round of this BT Sport bout last Friday in Leicester, England, and after catching unbeaten super lightweight Sam Maxwell with a good crack, he decided it was time to bust a move.

JM: In the words of one David Chappelle: “When keeping it real, goes wrong.”

AL: I’ll add to that with the words of one David St. Hubbins: “It’s such a fine line between stupid and clever.”

See the full clip of the 10th round below:

Kanat Keldibekov

AL: Let’s end on a happy note and give some shine to lightweight Kanat Keldibekov, who won an eight-man tournament last Thursday at WEF ProfFight 31: Grand Prix 2019 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

JM: You don’t think the immediate karma of our last highlight was a happy note? We lead different lives.

AK: I take no pleasure in viewing misfortune, even when it happens to fighters in the midst of some legit dumbassery (pardon the technical term).

He needed a wild comeback in the semi-finals to do it too, not to mention surviving his coach nearly dropping him on his damn head.

JM: What a comeback. I don’t think it would have been at all out of bounds for the ref to stop that fight when Keldibekov was getting rocketed with punches but this is why we love MMA. One split second can change everything and props to Keldibekov for taking advantage of his opponent’s slip and going for the win because otherwise, he was surely on his way to a loss.

AL: He sealed the deal with another guillotine choke in the finals and according to @Jolassanda also won himself a car.

And then he celebrated with this stylish hat on.

You can check out the entire Grand Prix and Keldibekov’s magical run for free on YouTube.

---

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.