Missed Fists: Kathleen Nelson scores KO just before power outage, Adam Meskini flattens foe with upkick, more

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.

With the UFC announcing its return to what it expects to be sold-out stadiums in Jacksonville and Houston, you can imagine that fighters across the world are picturing what it will be like to compete in front of packed houses again. Maybe that’s why there’s been such an abundance of highlights lately as fighters work harder than ever to impress.

Or it could just be MMA being its usual wild self. Case in point, even if there was a large crowd present for our first clip, there’s a good chance they would have missed this finish.

(By the way, make sure to follow @Barrelelapierna and check out their weekly best-of lists for an even more thorough look at the week’s best finishes.)

Kathleen Nelson vs. Laura Dotter

Insert obligatory “lights out” KO pun.

Alright, now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about Kathleen Nelson’s incredible win over Laura Dotter that happened at literally the exact same time that there was a brief power outage at a Combat Night Pro 20 show in Orlando, Fla. on March 13.

The incident made the rounds on social media this week and it’s a great highlight for Nelson, an amateur featherweight… or at least it would be a great highlight if the result hadn’t been overturned. According to several online databases, including Tapology, the official result of the bout is a no contest, presumably because of the split second that nobody could see either fighter.

I suppose it’s possible that someone tossed Nelson a steel chair while the lights were out or maybe The Undertaker showed up and bonked Dotter on the top of her head? You can’t rule these things out, so no contest was probably the way to go here.

Check out another angle of the bizarre finish.

Adam Meskini vs. Eduard Kexel

Were it not for Nelson’s generator-frying punch, Adam Meskini’s upkick from German MMA Championship Fight Night 6 surely would have taken the cake for this edition’s most stunning knockout.

We all know how powerful a good upkick can be, but how often do you see one land right on the button like that and just leave a fighter out cold?

Ivan Perez vs. Emanuel Rivero
Daniela Hernandez vs. Karen Manzo

In Monterry, Mexico, last Friday, Naciones MMA held its inaugural show. Founded by some folks who used to work for Combate Americas, I’m told that the goal is for Naciones to serve as a Latin America feeder league for the UFC. If the finishes from the first show are any indication, we could see a few fighters getting the call sooner rather than later.

Ivan Perez did his best Dan Henderson impression, landing a straight bomb on Emanuel Rivero and following up with a silly flying strike that thankfully whiffed.

I choose to believe that Perez angled his fist away at the last second.

Daniela Hernandez scored a sweet scarf choke against Karen Manzo and scarf chokes are pretty much a lock to be mentioned in Missed Fists.

Hernandez was making her pro debut, so she’s a long ways away from reaching the level of her countrywoman Montserrat Conejo, but she can at least say that she’s finished a fight with the same submission as the recent UFC debutante.

Ivan Hryschuk vs. Drayton Angus

Speaking of feeder leagues, Vancouver, British Columbia’s Battlefield Fight League returned to action for the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak and you can catch last Friday’s event on UFC Fight Pass.

The Canadian promotion booked such talents as Michael Chiesa, Jeremy Kennedy, and Tristan Connelly before they were signed to the UFC, and who knows, maybe Ivan Hryschuk follows in their footsteps someday. He certainly made a good first impression in his pro debut, outclassing a wild Drayton Angus and leaving him dazed against the fence.

With respect to Angus, I can kind of see why he’s now 7-11 in his career with none of his losses coming by way of decision.

Austin Arnett vs. Daniel Vega
Denis Tiuliulin vs. Juscelino Ferreira
Mohammad Osseili vs. Ivan Slynko

Over at UAE Warriors 18 in Abu Dhabi, we have a name that’s looking to fight his way back to the North American big leagues someday.

Austin Arnett made a fine accounting of himself against Daniel Vega last Saturday, lighting him up on the feet to score his first win since November 2018.

Arnett didn’t have much luck in the UFC and, like a lot of fighters over the past year, has dealt with fights being cancelled due to the pandemic as well as injuries. At 29, there’s still plenty of time for him to pop back up stateside, if that’s his goal.

As impressive as Arnett’s performance was, it was topped by Denis Tiuliulin unloading a super combo on Juscelino Ferreira.

Mohammad Osseili didn’t need to be quite as busy against Ivan Slynko, he just had to wait for an opening that Slynko gave him less than a minute into round one.

Head mooooooment! Head mooooooooooment!

Gregory Rodrigues vs. Al Matavao

Head mooooooooooooooment!

Seriously though guys, I’m clearly not qualified to be a coach, but at some point you’ve gotta just get those hands up, right?

That’s Gregory Rodrigues crowning Al Matavao at LFA 102, which is available on UFC Fight Pass.

Brian Bouland vs. Liam Gittins
Nicolas Leblond vs. Darren O’Gorman
Jean N’Doye vs. Corrin Eaton
Ian Garry vs. Rostem Akman

Also on Fight Pass, we had the second and third of three consecutive Cage Warriors events last weekend, and some of the long-running English promotion’s top prospects lived up to the hype.

Here’s Belgium’s Brian Bouland biding his time and picking up this week’s best comeback against Liam Gittins, or as I’m calling these things from now on, the Call An Ambulance, But Not For Me award.

Nicolas Leblond was more successful than Gittins in walking his opponent down as he smoked Darren O’Gorman with a big left.

I don’t know if Leblond was disguising the left hand all that much before landing the KO blow, but that hand needs to be disguised for a while since it’s now an accessory to a crime.

Jean N’Doye showed everyone how to time a knee perfectly with this brilliant counter against a level-changing Corrin Eaton.

After a disappointing decision loss to Ciaran Clarke in October at Bellator 248, this was a nice bounce-back win for N’Doye. He’s now finished his past four Cage Warriors opponents.

And we can’t forget the awesome head kick and celebration of unbeaten Irishman Ian Garry, who improved to 6-0 with his win over recent UFC fighter Rostem Akman.

Sheyk-Akhmat Tokaev vs. Pavel Grachev
Vyacheslav Lovin vs. Kabi Zavurbegov

Speaking of perfectly-timed knees, Sheyk-Akhmat Tokaev had an absolute beauty at FMR Fighting Championship: Selection 6 (initials inside of an event name that can also be abbreviated into initials? Come on, man) in Moscow.

Sure, Pavel Grachev’s knees were on the mat as he shot in, but I’m glad that this stands as a KO because we’re talking a split-second decision here and Tokaev shouldn’t be penalized because his opponent suddenly shot into a vulnerable position. Great technique.

Our Submission of the Week has to go to Vyacheslav Lovin for what might be the most hard-earned guillotine choke of all time.

You can’t blame Kabi Zavurbegov for not tapping out here, there’s no way anyone should have been able to hold onto a guillotine attempt for that long without their arms becoming drained. And yet it paid off somehow.

It has to be mentioned that FMC: Selection 6 was apparently a 53-fight card (!!!) and you can catch every one of those bouts on the promotion’s YouTube channel.

Darko Stosic vs. Michal Wlodarek

Like Arnett, Darko Stosic struggled in his short stint with the UFC, but as it turns out, you can always go home again. Check out Stosic making an absolute mess out of Michal Wlodarek at KSW 59 in Lodz, Poland, last Saturday.

Forget your fancy guard passes and ground-and-pound setups, sometimes you’ve got to just load up that hammer and drop it on a dude’s head.

Yong Joo Lim vs. Jong Gi Ahn

Let’s make one last stop in Seoul, South Korea, to show our respect to Yong Joo Lim and pay our respects to his opponent Jong Gi Ahn.

Lim made Ahn miss with everything while peppering him with punches, culminating in a devastating right hand that led to a legit stretcher job.

Now let’s all step away from our monitors and take a moment for quiet reflection.

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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.