Missed Fists: One-handed fighter Marney Maxx scores amazing head kick knockout

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’re one month into the year and we have been absolutely spoiled with highlights. The knockouts and submissions flowed like liquid gold this week, but for our lead we’re going with an inspiring sight before we get to the usual brutality.

(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.)

Marney Maxx vs. Deivid Costa

AL: I understand that the wonder of seeing Nick Newell compete with one hand has dimmed in the eyes of a lot of jaded MMA fans as we’ve seen him plenty over the years, but I’ve never ceased admiring him for having a successful fighting career despite that hurdle.

So you can imagine how wowed I was by one-handed Brazilian fighter Marney Maxx wiping Deivid Costa out with a head kick at a Demo Fight event in Bahia, Brazil.

JM: Remember when Nick Newell fought Justin Gaethje? Wow, was that a bad idea.

AL: I could have four hands and I wouldn’t want to fight Gaethje.

JM: Now that’s something I’d pay to watch: Gaethje vs. Goro.

AL: Gaethje -400 favorite.

JM: Anyway, this is a quality knockout! Maxx chops the legs down and then switches it up and goes high. That being said, I’ve got to wonder what Costa was doing here. He seemed entirely content to stay out of boxing range, which seems like that should be the range you’d want to set up camp in for this fight. Certainly he’s regretting that in hindsight.

AL: It’s really a quality knockout under any circumstances, but Maxx powering through that adversity makes it even better. You can learn more about him on his Instagram and YouTube.

And now we go from the inspirational to straight filth courtesy of amateur Dylan Aguilar and the Fury Amateur Series.

JM: “Kick of the Night” is tremendous brand building. Way to go, Fury Amateur Series and way to go Mr. Aguilar. Nicely done.

Tebatso Molele vs. Jade Van Der Kroff
Nicholas Vermaak vs. Philani Mbuyazi
Zanro Burger vs. Mlungisi Mbizane Junior
Jhonnatan Insignares vs. Junior Mesa

AL: Honestly, I don’t know what was going on with the amateur circuit this week, but dudes were HUNGRY.

An Alpha MMA event in Midrand, South Africa, featured a trio of awesome finishes, including Tebatso Molele doing everything in his power to take Jade Van Der Kroff’s head home with him.

My man was not giving up on this choke and Van Der Kroff didn’t want to give in either, so that’s how we ended up with that mess.

JM: Dang. That is as deep as I think I’ve ever seen a choke. And VDK was fighting it off for so long I thought he might just be one of those super weird dudes who are unchokeable. Turns out he wasn’t.

AL: Then we had Nicholas Vermaak and the magnificently named Zanro Burger churning out dueling Humpty Dumpty Fall of the Week candidates.

I think I lean towards giving the award to Vermaak this week. You can’t go wrong either way. Well, it went very wrong for Philani Mbuyazi and Mlungisi Mbizane Junior, but you get what I’m saying.

JM: Amateur MMA is so stupid. “Thank god they have those shin guards, we wouldn’t want someone to get hurt in there!”

As for who takes home top honors this weekend, I’ve got to give it to Vermaak. The presence of the cage always makes weird falls that much more interesting.

Jhonnatan Insignares vs. Junior Mesa

AL: Amateur Jhonnatan Insignares kicks off our next section dedicated to spinning sh*t as he clocked Junior Mesa in the worst possible way with a spinning boot right to the mush at a Gladiator Fight Club event in Caldas, Colombia.

JM: Again, we are saved by the presence of shin guards! No devastating trauma can be doled out so long as we cushion two bones in a fighter’s body.

On an almost entirely unrelated topic, with all these ammys earning space here, do you think our own E. Casey Leydon will make the Missed Fists cut when he has his first fight this month? God I hope so. I need to see our man victorious in these hallowed pages.

AL: Of course, he’ll probably be the lead story and hopefully not because he’s on the receiving end of a Humpty Dumpty KO. Speaking of which…

Lascha Abramishvili vs. Ahad Sardari

Over on the pro side, Lascha Abramishvili shined at a German MMA Championship event in Gelsenkirchen as he zagged a spin kick into the face of a zigging Ahad Sardari.

JM: That’s lowkey a contender for Humpty Dumpty this week as well. If Sardari had truly collapsed at the end instead of covering up, that would’ve been a full-blown Flair Flop.

Gleb Khabibulin vs. Furkat Komilov

AL: Man, this spinning is some real “no can defend” BS, or at least I thought it was until I saw Gleb Khabibulin time the perfect counter against a twirling Furkat Komilov (full fight available on YouTube).

That’s “Oh We Throwing Spinning Sh*t” meets “Two Piece and a Soda.”

JM: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. That was incredible. Like, the two most important aspects to a spinning attack are that you can’t telegraph it (or else they will just move out of the way) and you have to do it quickly. Instead, Komilov spins like he’s in wet cement and gives Khabibulin a lifetime to take his head off. Tremendous stuff.

Magomed-Amin Pirbudakov vs. Sirazhudin Abdulaev
Alexander Soldatkin vs. Jackson Goncalves
Manuchekhr Davlatov vs. Jahongir Jaloliddinov

AL: Everyone was excited about Eagle FC’s U.S. debut this past weekend, but back in the promotion’s homebase of Russia there was plenty of damage being dished out.

At an Eagle FC: Selection show (free replay available on YouTube) in Dagestan, Magomed-Amin Pirbudakov literally hunted Sirazhudin Abdulaev down and gave him no chance to escape this knockout.

Seriously, what would you have done in this situation?

JM: Well, I would have started out by not accepting the fight. Being a professional fighter seems to be a terrible profession, full of pain and suffering with very little reward. But barring that I think Abdulaev did the only thing he could do in this situation: get wrecked.

AL: Then at Open Fighting Championship 16 (free replay available on YouTube) in Tolyatti, Alexander Soldatkin made sure that Jackson Goncalves wasn’t going anywhere after Goncalves survived some ground-and-pound and tried to catch a breather.

“Where do you think you’re goin’, pal?”

JM: I know that, very occasionally, we see someone get away with turning their back and running away during a fight, but it seems like that’s few and far between. I feel like the most likely outcome whenever you completely turn your back to an opponent and flee is that you get clobbered in a violent and disrespectful fashion.

Don’t run away, kids. Face your enemies head on.

AL: And then there was Manuchekhr Davlatov, who graced us with a leg lock submission that is sure to ruin your weekend when you see that final twist.

I immediately regret watching this. And watching it again.

JM: Why did you put this as the final clip?!? You’re supposed to send people out on a happy note! That poor man and his poor, used-to-function knee.

AL: I believe it was the great Aristotle who once mused upon the art of combat, “Barf.”

If after all that you’re somehow craving more Fists that may have been Missed, make sure to check out the fantastic highlights from Thursday’s Ares FC show including Missed Fists alum Abdoul Abdouraguimov a.k.a. “Lazy King” hitting an inverted triangle to become the first fighter to submit UFC veteran Godofredo Pepey.

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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.