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.
This week, we bring you the latest (mis-)adventures of “The Techno Goliath” himself, Hong Man Choi.
David Mihajlov vs. Hong Man Choi
AL: *sigh* So here’s Hong Man Choi getting chopped down like a tree in a kickboxing bout at an Angel’s Fighting Championship show in Seoul, South Korea, on Monday.
David Mihajlov TKOd Hong Man Choi in 1R pic.twitter.com/vTBvDxgupH
— Jolassanda (@Jolassanda) June 10, 2019
JM: I feel bad for Choi. This man has had to go through a murderer’s row. He’s fought Fedor Emelianenko, Mirko Cro Cop and Ikuhisa Minowa despite not being good at fighting. Then he fought Jose Canseco because this sport is a carnival sideshow (remember when that happened and Canseco brought out a bat to the cage? MMA is the fuggin best). Now’s he’s getting clobbered by some random dude in ignominious fashion. It’s a cruel world.
AL: And let us not forget his most recent combat sports outing where he got nutted by a monk.
Nutted. By. A monk.
JM: You sir, have a way with words.
But I have an important question: how has HMC never fought Bob Sapp? Can anyone explain that to me? Is there a more natural pairing of opponents in all of MMA than those two? I feel like I’m taking crazy pills!
AL: That’s a lot of money being left on the table and probably one of my top fantasy fights just behind Sapp and Kimbo Slice (RIP). And Kimbo and Choi now that you mention it.
Ewelina Wozniak vs. Anita Bekus
OMG!!!! Ewelina Woźniak killed Anita Bekus with a vicious one punch KO! #EnvioFightNight #Envio #MMA #Fights #Fighting #KO #Knockout https://t.co/KSdaiQo2dw
— wildmatt (@wildmatt) June 8, 2019
AL: I’m just going to put this out there: Was this knockout of Anita Bekus by Ewelina Wozniak at Envio Fight Night ‘20 in Bydgoszcz, Poland (full show available on their Facebook), more severe than Valentina Shevchenko taking out Jessica Eye this weekend?
JM: First, let’s be clear here, this is an excellent KO. World-class one-punch knockout with an awesome body flop to boot. But it ain’t no Shevchenko-Eye assassination.
AL: I feel I should point out that Bekus had to be stretchered out afterwards, it was absolutely awful.
JM: Frankly, they probably should’ve stretchered Eye out. Bullet Train went straight Queen of Hearts on her and offed with her freakin’ head.
Seriously, as Jessica Eye lay on the canvas, completely separated from consciousness for the third straight minute, I was starting to think we may have seen the first UFC coma. And Eye is no wilting lily. That woman had never been KO’d before. No disrespect to Wozniak, but these aren’t on at the same difficulty level. And unless Bekus is still laying in that arena the KO on it’s own merits isn’t as horrifying/awesome.
AL: Well I guess we can all feel better about it then.
Virgil Zwicker vs. Attila Vegh
Samuel Kristofic vs. Anderson Queiroz
Henrique da Silva vs. Jan Gottvald
Karol Rysavy vs. Samuel Danko
AL: You know, when people talk about being bored watching flyweight fights, I usually make some crack about how there are just as many (or more) bad heavyweight fights and you never hear about people wanting to get rid of that division.
But even I have to admit that flyweights usually can’t produce wild-ass finishes like this one between Virgil Zwicker and Attila Vegh from Oktagon 12 in Bratislava, Slovakia (pay-per-view available on their site).
In non-UFC news, last Saturday, journeyman Virgil "Rezdog" Zwicker (17-9-1) upset former Bellator champ Attila Végh in front of the Slovak's partisan fans. A possible clash of heads spiraled into chaos, as the Strikeforce alum poured it on to snap a three-fight skid. #Oktagon12 pic.twitter.com/zQzy9khsvI
— Kyle Johnson (@VonPreux) June 10, 2019
JM: That final punch combo is saucy. The way Zwicker fades off the right hand and then comes back and clobbers Vegh with his own right is really nice. That takes a lot of skill to be able to be able to reflexively do that in the middle of a bit of a brawl.
AL: Our man @VonPreux (follow him on Twitter!) also did everyone a service by providing a clip of three of the best finishes from Saturday’s card, so here’s Samuel Kristofic winning with a pinpoint counter-punch on Anderson Queiroz, the always unpredictable Henrique da Silva crushing Jan Gottvald with a right hand, and Karol Rysavy carrying over last week’s elbow madness with a step-in offering against Samuel Danko.
More from #Oktagon12 in Bratislava:
— Kyle Johnson (@VonPreux) June 10, 2019
- Fan favorite Samuel Krištofič (11-3) impaled Anderson Queiroz in 28 seconds.
- UFC vet Henrique "Frankenstein" da Silva (15-6) bombed Jan Gottvald and called for Karlos Vémola.
- Karol Ryšavý (7-1) crumpled Samuel Daňko with a standing elbow. pic.twitter.com/MQ9JvtmA8E
JM: Ooooooo. Not gonna lie, I love this mini-highlight here. Lightning round, let’s go!
- Quieroz stepped right into that jab and ended his night. Great follow up shots from Kristofic.
- I count a 15-punch combo Gottvald that had da Silva on the ropes but damn if the magic “swing back” strategy didn’t work, despite the fact that HDS was stumbling around like a baby deer when he started coming forward. Incredible 10 seconds of action.
- More like Karol Ry-savvy because that was some slick stuff. Slipped a few big shots in the middle of all of that and then stepped in with a savage elbow. Danko was donezo after that, clearly not looking at all like he was trying to fight, just waiting for the ref to finally step in and stop the pain.
How did I do?
AL: “A” for effort.
Phetsupan Por Daorungruang vs. Kumandoi Phetjaroenvit
Daorote Jitmuangnon vs. Pohnsayam Sor Poompat
AL: As usual, there was a lot of bad s*it happening at Rajadamnern in Bangkok, Thailand. You’ll want to check out Lucas Bourdon’s continued coverage of the Muay Thai scene, but here are two of the best (worst?) bits from last week.
First, Phetsupan Por Daorungruang making an absolute mess of Kumandoi Phetjaroenvit.
This kills the man. Kumandoi executes Phetsuphan with a perfectly timed kick on his way down. pic.twitter.com/J0XT3U3PB1
— Yodsanan (@_Yodsanan) June 6, 2019
JM: I am always highly impressed by the timing it takes to adjust a kick mid-strike and land on a target that is collapsing. It’s just super skillful. And it super sucks if you are Kumandoi because he was only on his way to getting dropped and now instead he doesn’t have any teeth.
AL: And one more from the department of head kicks, this cold-as-ice, almost casual strike from Daorote Jitmuangnon:
HEAD KICK ALERT#AbsoluteMuayThai pic.twitter.com/DE5TFzfCK4
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) June 10, 2019
JM: This is, I think, my favorite KO from last week, even above Shevchenko bodying the number one contender in horror-show fashion. That kick was great, but it was pretty standard “go high after attacking low and drawing the block down” tactics.
Here, Daorote side-steps the front-kick, pushes Pohnsayam’s arms even further across to exacerbate the angle, feints the left hand on Pohnsayam, who is expecting the follow up shot to be a cross, but then launches the actual kill shot head kick on the now ducking opponent, which he has measured out with his left hand sticking range. And he does all of that with almost unnerving coolness.
Michael Seals vs. Christopher Brooker
AL: We go from kickboxing to boxing now. Here’s Michael Seals making Christopher Brooker see The Holy Ghost at a Top Rank/Let’s Get It On Promotions show in Reno, Nevada.
Michael Seals KO2 Michael Brooker (175) pic.twitter.com/VE8lXo9bRZ
— MB2 (@mikebaca2) June 9, 2019
JM: Oh man. That might have the “He Fell Funny” of the year award locked up.
If you cut the bottom one out, it looks like Brooker is trying to limbo the ring ropes, only if he was possessed by a phantom while he’s doing it.
Chelsea Chandler vs. Brittney Victoria
Kanako Murata vs. Liana Pirosin
Kyle Estrada vs. Ricky Furar
Brandon Moreno vs. Maikel Perez
AL: Let’s finish off with a look at two of our favorite mid-majors, Invicta FC and LFA. These shows got lost in the shuffle with everything that happened at UFC 238, so let’s make sure we show some appreciation for strawweight prospect Chelsea Chandler and Rizin FF bantamweight Kanako Murata.
Here’s Chandler’s head-turning KO of Brittney Victoria.
NEW UPDATE SHE'S STILL A WRECKING BALL#InvictaFC35 pic.twitter.com/EHsiupqOR3
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) June 8, 2019
JM: That is an incredible visual. Victoria should probably not be allowed to have her hair like that in the cage as it whips around violently, but I am glad she did and I’m even happier that she has the white streak in it because it whips around like a sparkler in the hands of a 6-year-old.
Submission specialist @m_r_t_k_n_k just gave the least comfortable hug of all time.#InvictaFC35 pic.twitter.com/n6bHM37mhl
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) June 8, 2019
AL: I love how Murata sets up the choke here, just completely wearing Pirosin down by attacking with all of her limbs until she can get the hooks in and finish.
JM: B.J. Penn should get royalties every time someone traps an arm with their legs and gets a rear-naked choke. Maybe then he’d quit fighting.
Official Results: Estrada def. Furar via TKO Referee Stoppage at :19 into Round 2. pic.twitter.com/xqiO6kjGoJ
— AXS TV Fights (@AXSTVFights) June 8, 2019
I think I hate the refereeing here. Mike Beltran sort of spends a hunk of time in no-man’s land, debating what to do and that’s never a good thing.
AL: Mike Beltran is not a good referee.
JM: But he has exceptional facial hair which has to count for something.
Ricky Furar is clearly hurt by the leg kicks but doesn’t waive the fight off, and Beltran’s presence stepping in seems to keep Kyle Estrada from going in for the kill. Ultimately, since Beltran called the fight, it’s not egregiously bad, but if Furar had tried to keep going, it would’ve been an unfortunate non-intervention.
AL: Let’s end with an update on Brandon Moreno, who was competing in MMA for the first time since being released by the UFC. Moreno came out of nowhere in 2016 to become a top-10 contender, but flamed out after back-to-back decision losses to Sergio Pettis and Alexandre Pantoja.
It’s obvious that at 25 he still has a ton to offer though, and he beat Olympic wrestler Maikel Perez last Friday to snag LFA’s flyweight title. “The Assassin Baby” is back!
Official Results: Moreno def. Perez via TKO at 1:54 into Round 1. pic.twitter.com/EPRyILJl7r
— AXS TV Fights (@AXSTVFights) June 8, 2019
JM: Thank god the UFC is slowly eroding the flyweight division. Why would they possibly want to keep exciting young fighters (albeit with dumb nicknames) like “The Assassin Baby”...
AL: Hey!
JM: ...on their roster? Instead they can just desperately hope to promote Henry Cejudo as a marketable star with a belt he’ll never defend (and shouldn’t have won in the first place!) I won’t ever understand how the UFC had one of the four best fighters ever and not only traded him away but did so with the express intent of getting rid of his weight class entirely, despite the fact that his weight class was populated with action-first hellions like Moreno.
The flyweight division is never going to be a marquee division. That’s just a reality. But it’s an incredible complimentary piece, almost always good for a lively scrap, and they never could figure that out which is why we have young talents like Moreno getting busy at LFA.
Oh well, a few more wins and maybe ONE will sign him to fight for the actual flyweight title of the world against current champion, Demetrious Johnson.
Poll
What was the most memorable Missed Fists clip this week?
This poll is closed
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27%
David Mihajlov chops down Hong Man Choi
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30%
Ewelina Wozniak leaves Anita Bekus on a stretcher
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7%
Henrique da Silva’s haymaker
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22%
Phetsupan Por Daorungruang’s perfectly timed head kick
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8%
Michael Seals has Michael Brooker seeing spirits
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3%
Other (leave comment below)
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.