Missed Fists: Pair of must-see one-punch knockouts highlight Golden MMA show

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’ve got a short show this time around as this past weekend’s Thanksgiving edition covered a lot of the recent madness that was missed. If you didn’t read about the 5 vs. 5 matchup in Poland that turned ugly real fast, then make sure you do so, then come right back here for a few more must-see highlights.

(Big thanks as always to @Barrelelapierna for their weekly lists of the best KOs and submissions, and to @Grabaka_Hitman for uploading many of the clips you see here. Give them a follow and chip in on Patreon if you can.)

Brendo Santos vs. Edi Silva
Roque Junior vs. William Fernandes

Golden MMA’s recent event in Sao Paulo wasn’t exactly packed with seasoned talent, but as we’ve mentioned several times in the past, sometimes these shows featuring just-barely-above-amateur fighters can be the most fun.

Case in point, Brendo Santos was biding his time beautifully before absolutely smoking Edi Silva with a left hand bomb.

That ain’t just a walk-off, that’s a jump-off, and a well-earned one at that.

Roque Junior was even more efficient with his energy, simply marching forward with confidence and uncorking a left hand that floored William Fernandes.

Were it not for the unnecessary hammerfist, Junior would likely have led off this week’s edition of Missed Fists, but Santos won on style points.

Wagner Reis vs. Yan Ferraz
Jose Diaz vs. Lukas Campos

Sticking around in the state of Sao Paulo, the illustrious Jungle Fight promotion held its first event since the global outbreak of COVID-19 in March of last year. Countless stars have passed through the Jungle Fight cage, including Jose Aldo, Lyoto Machida, and Fabricio Werdum, so it’s good to see it back in action.

Unfortunately for Yan Ferraz, his time in the hallowed cage was short as he was blasted in just 23 seconds by Wagner Reis.

This was a devastating loss for the more experienced Ferraz, who would have gone 3-0 in 2021 with a win on Sunday. Compare that to Reis, a fighter with a 2-2 record that hadn’t competed in two years. Sounds like a blowout on paper and it was in practice too, just not in the way one would expect.

MMA is a funny business, man.

We move into the submission portion of our program with this stunning inverted triangle armbar, courtesy of Jose Diaz.

I thought for a second there that Lukas Campos had an opening to pull out of danger, but nope, his arm never got free and Diaz knew he had him dead to rights. Every move Campos made only sunk him deeper into trouble and the ending of the sequence was truly a thing of beauty.

You can catch a free replay of Jungle Fight 103 on YouTube.

Rafael Saenz vs. Diego Altamirano

Speaking of beautiful triangle setups, how about this effort from Rafael Saenz from a Jasaji Fighting League show in Mexico City?

Look at that flexibility! That’s probably not something you would even attempt at higher levels of MMA because that’s just going to end with you on your back getting punched into oblivion, but at this type of show, have at it. Diego Altamirano tries to slam his way out of the triangle choke, which is the wrong thing to do, and it’s only a matter of time until Saenz sweeps into top position and forces the tap.

Ariel Ibarra vs. Daniel Guerra
Francisco Benitez vs. Edgar Romero

Let’s leave off in Corrientes, Argentina, where La Batalla del Puente 7 took place. We’re getting to the end of 2021 and that means it’s time for everyone to start putting together their Best Of lists. I doubt Ariel Ibarra and Daniel Guerra are going to get any recognition for Fight of the Year, but you can’t convince me that this 20-second exchange of sloppy haymakers isn’t as entertaining as anything you saw in MMA over the past 12 months.

Bonus points for giving us our Humpty Dumpty fall of the week.

And in the spirit of Christmas, we have a fighter rising back up after clearly being knocked out cold.

That’s Francisco Benitez doing the damage and Edgar Romero protesting the stoppage. This is a classic case of a fighter getting KO’d and then woken up by their body hitting the canvas. In this case, Romero’s head actually seemed to land somewhat gently on the cage, which may explain how he recovered so quickly.

Hallelujah!

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.