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.
First up this week, a big discovery down in Tokyo.
Bokang Masunyane vs. Yusuke Ogikubo
Rafael Silva vs. Yuto Hokamura
Satoshi Date vs. Katsuyuki Hironaka
JM: Usually we start out each week by talking about some ultraviolence that happened. But this week, I’d like to start out with something much happier. I fell in love over the weekend. Not the passing fancy kind of love, but the Real Deal Holyfield kind of love. This is who I fell in love with.
Bokang "Little Giant" Masunyane pic.twitter.com/4n1z7HOWl7
— Streetfight Bancho (@streetfitebanch) July 21, 2019
I know only three facts about Bokang Masunyane. His name is awesome, he is awesome, and I’m ready to fight anyone who disagrees. Consider this the official start of the Bokang Gang.
AL: “Little Giant” is billed at 5-foot-1 and that seems generous. He was definitely not generous with the way he treated Yusuke Ogikubo here. Despite giving up six inches in height to Ogikubo, Masunyane absolutely handles him for three rounds, just tossing him all over the cage.
Ogikubo went into this fight as the No. 5 ranked flyweight in Pancrase, so taking him out in such impressive fashion is nothing to sneeze at. Masunyane improved to 6-0 and now that Michel Pereira got that call to the big show, I think “Little Giant” is the guy I most want to see get a look from a major North American promotion.
Don’t take our word for it though, Pancrase 307 can be viewed in its entirety on UFC Fight Pass.
Also on this show, we had Bellator vet Rafael Silva showing what it takes to be almost 40 fights deep into a pro career and how to be a defending bantamweight champion in the lawless land of JMMA.
In the co-main event, Yuto Hokamura was absolutely drilling Silva with elbows to the dome, but that was just a setup for an awesome comeback.
Rafael "Morcego" Silva (@rafaelmorcegoRM) is still your Bantamweight King of Pancrase, surviving a gruesome series of elbows (several to the back of the head) to choke out Yuto Hokamura in round two! Now 31-6, the Bellator vet is 9-1 in his last 10. What a war! #Pancrase307 pic.twitter.com/KGrirnYUmB
— Kyle Johnson (@VonPreux) July 21, 2019
JM: I know this is gonna sound hypocritical coming from me, the leading proponent of cheating in MMA, but even I think those elbows were excessive.
I have no idea what the referee was doing, allowing Hokamura to obliterate the back of the head like that or, frankly, allowing the fight to continue as Silva took something in the neighborhood of 32 unanswered strikes there but I guess it’s a good thing he did. Full credit to Silva for gutting it out and then getting the win. That’s an incredibly impressive display of heart.
Tiger DATE elbow KO #pancrase307 pic.twitter.com/sI5mGK0P9U
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) July 21, 2019
Arguably the best performance from Pancrase last week though came from the opening fight. Satoshi Date was spamming elbows like a video game character and then suddenly, one of them landed and that was all she wrote.
Tiger DATE elbow KO #pancrase307 pic.twitter.com/sI5mGK0P9U
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) July 21, 2019
Not bad for a (now) 6-11 MMA fighter.
AL: My first guess would be that Date broke his hand or something. My conclusion would be that he broke Katsuyuki Hironaka’s face.
Fuktarbek Davronov vs. Maksat Ergeshaliev
JM: Let’s shift gears a bit and head to St. Petersburg, Russia where something fun happens.
35 seconds TKO by Davranov (WEF83) pic.twitter.com/nAO3Rob3Le
— Jolassanda (@Jolassanda) July 20, 2019
First off, I love that at event number 35, Fuktarbek Davronov scored a 35-second KO. That’s just neat. Second off, for only a 35-second scrap it’s a good one.
AL: It may not have lasted long, but this promoter and the fans definitely got their money’s worth. I’ll be the first one to champion technical battles like what we saw between Leon Edwards and Rafael dos Anjos, but it never hurts to enjoy a fight that is just big, dumb fun, does it?
JM: Ergeshaliev actually cracks Davronov and has him a little jolted but like all true fighters, a hurt Davronov is a dangerous Davronov and he wades in throwing heat that gets the job done.
Gabriel Victorino vs. Luigui Quezada
Kevin Borjas vs. Jorge Icomena
AL: It’s been too long since we’ve checked in with our Peruvian pals at Inka FC, so let’s see what was going down last Friday in Lima.
En el evento estelar, Gabriel Victorino se quedo el cinturon gallo de Inka FC con un hermoso KO pic.twitter.com/ZEBsMPT74E
— Barrele la pierna (@Barrelelapierna) July 20, 2019
Poor Luigui Quezada. You can tell he gets hurt early in this clip and has no idea where he is, so his body just wanders forward into more and more punches until it shuts down completely.
JM: Talk about a face plant. That’s one of the hardest belly flops I’ve ever seen in the cage. What a great win for Gabriel Victorino, picking up a belt and an impressive KO. Considering he’s a bantamweight, he might be one to watch for. Could see him getting picked up soon.
One guy who won’t be getting picked up soon is Jorge Icomena, unless by “picked up” you mean “picked up off the canvas.” Jorge tried to channel the much more successful Jorge Masvidal and lead with a flying knee. It did not go as planned.
Ayer en Inka FC 31. Tremendo rodillazo de Kevin Borjas a los 5 segundos (o algo asi) pic.twitter.com/YC5KeJXLZI
— Barrele la pierna (@Barrelelapierna) July 20, 2019
Now that right there is a prime example of when keeping it real goes wrong.
AL: Last week, we saw Jyunya Murata botch a Masvidal knee and nearly fly out of the ring, though he was fortunate enough to get it together and pick up a submission win later. No such luck for Icomena here.
Just the spill onto his butt would have been enough to make him go viral. Unlike Murata, Icomena never recovers and in the cruelest of ironies, ends up on the receiving end of a knee knockout himself.
The MMA Gods chortled.
Zhao Chongyang vs. Kento Ito
Over at K-1 Krush 103, we saw a much more accurate knee by Zhao Chongyang that Icomena may want to study in the future:
perfect knee
— Jolassanda (@Jolassanda) July 21, 2019
Zhao Chongyang KOs Kento (Krush) pic.twitter.com/Zq6QJ5V0tZ
JM: That is a truly savage knee. Usually it feels like the big knee KOs snap the head upward. This one does that but it also twists Kento’s head around like a bottlecap. And Zhao knows what he did too. The moment it lands you can see him pull back like he is thinking “Welp, that’s done. No man alive is eating that and staying conscious.”
AL: If we’re doing the bottle cap challenge with people’s heads now, I want no part of it.
Cassius Chaney vs. Joel Caudle
AL: You know, we’ve collected plenty of knockouts for our “He Fell Funny” category, but this might be the first “He Outta Here” KO we’ve seen:
He knocked him out of the ring pic.twitter.com/lZqzUQFFQC
— ESPN (@espn) July 20, 2019
JM: I won’t lie, there is just something about watching a man get knocked through the ropes that tickles my fancy. But while that is a good angle, I prefer this one.
Cassius Chaney knocked this man OUT THE RING @Cassius_Chaney @trboxing @espn pic.twitter.com/cbJpt8Zu3y
— Main Events (@Main_Events) July 20, 2019
AL: If you’ve got a VR headset, strap that puppy on and watch as Joel Caudle tumbles right into your living room.
JM: Gotta respect the judge who saw a semi-conscious man hurtling towards him through the ropes and didn’t think to himself, “I should catch this man before he cracks open his skull on the floor” and instead thought, “I’ll shove him to the side so I don’t need to get out of my chair.” Keep looking out for number one, buddy.
AL: We’re going to end this week on a somber note by sending our condolences to the friends and family of Maxim Dadashev, who passed away earlier this week following a loss to Subriel Matias on the same card as the Chaney-Caudle fight. Dadashev’s corner waved the white flag for him in the 11th round after it became clear that their fighter was sustaining too much damage, but sadly he would succumb to brain injuries Tuesday morning at a hospital in Maryland.
As much as we glorify spectacular finishes in this feature, let’s not forget the human cost and the sacrifices these fighters make for our entertainment. Whether they win or lose, be grateful for the martial artists, warriors, and maniacs who choose this path.
A GoFundMe has been started to help Dadashev’s family for anyone who wishes to show their support through a donation.
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.