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.
Here at Missed Fists headquarters, we reward innovation. Whether its fighters making creative use of the cage or ring or moat, attempting submission holds that make no logical sense, or doing whatever the hell it is that this gentleman was doing, we can’t stress enough that how you attempt to win is just as important as winning itself.
That said, this policy may require some amendment, for safety’s sake.
(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.)
Mansur Beltoev vs. Aziz Mukhtarov
Dmitriy Ionin vs. Valeriy Dashkevich
Mansur Beltoev clearly wanted to make a splash in his pro MMA debut and, well, it’s definitely not one that he or anyone else will forget anytime soon.
(WARNING: Gruesome injury ahead!)
Nasty elbow injury #UralFC1 pic.twitter.com/ldNLpoJLhE
— Matysek (@Matysek88) July 1, 2022
Cartwheel guard passes are a dicey proposition at best and this one was not only well-defended, but Beltoev made the cardinal sin of posting up on his arm after going airborne. The end result was disastrous for him as you can see. Bless his heart for going for it, but sometimes you’ve got to just dive down into that guard and go to work.
Congrats to Aziz Mukhtarov on the win and we wish Beltoev a speedy recovery.
Dmitriy Ionin had a much more successful pro debut, blasting Valeriy Dashkevich with a slick 1-2 combo to earn his first win.
Huge 1-2 KO by Dmitriy Ionin #UralFC1 pic.twitter.com/kpwA5k6PA2
— Matysek (@Matysek88) July 1, 2022
Ural Fighting Championship 1, which took place in Perm, Russia, is available to stream for free on YouTube.
Bakhachali Bakhachaliev vs. Zharkynbay Zamirbek uulu
While we’re in Russia, let’s hop over to Derbent for a stylish spin kick finish from an AFC International League this past weekend.
KO earlier at AFC-1 by Bakhachali Bakhachaliev. Spinning back kick meets liver. pic.twitter.com/JcLeYVcuil
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) June 29, 2022
That’s Bakhachali Bakhachaliev with what can only be described as a spin kick staredown knockout. That’s something you don’t see every day. Then again, when you ping-pong your opponent off the cage with a hit like that, you’re probably feeling confident that they’re not getting back up.
Somehow, that wasn’t the best body kick finish of the week.
Geraldo Neto vs. Luis Henrique Quintella
Luan Santana folds Indio Quintella with a brutal liver kick in round 3. That sound. Hellll no#IronMan24 pic.twitter.com/p7jcgM8Eqa
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) June 25, 2022
Yeah, that was worse. Much, much worse.
The sound of Geraldo Neto’s liver kick alone is enough to jar even the most hardened fight fanatic, but then you see his opponent Luis Henrique Quintella lying on the mat for what seems like ages. His body (what’s left of his body, anyway) language communicates one thing: regret.
It’s finishes like this that make you wonder if combat sports was a mistake.
Iron Man MMA 24 from Para, Brazil, is available for free replay on YouTube.
Gabriela Campo vs. Cecilia Lujan
Diego Robledo vs. Cristian Dominguez
Let’s keep the bad times rolling with action from a Circuito Argentino de MMA event in Buenos Aires.
Here’s Gabriela Campo scoring a wicked slam finish:
Wow. Slam and GNP KO by Gabriela Campo against Cecilia Lujan to kick off the CAM 11 main card #CAM11 pic.twitter.com/Vxg8ANYOPZ
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) June 26, 2022
My guess is that there was some forehead-to-chin contact there, which is what really did the damage, but it’s hard to tell from these angles. Either way, that’s a fierce finish.
On that same card, Diego Robledo showed off his own wild aggression with a flying knee that landed right on the button.
Savage flying knee KO by Diego Robledo at CAM 11. Damn. Cristian Dominguez was down for a long time but left the cage on his feet.#CAM11 pic.twitter.com/GBnE6YLkKl
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) June 26, 2022
I don’t know how much of that is luck and how much is skill because Robledo made an incredible adjustment mid-strike to catch the chin of a retreating Cristian Dominguez. On the other hand, you have to be good to be lucky and lucky to be good, so full credit to Robledo, who captured a middleweight tournament crown with the win.
Jojo Rajkumari vs. Mary Jane Buna
At Matrix Fight Night 9 in New Delhi, Jojo Rajkumari landed a punch that made her opponent go full Matua.
Jojo Rajkumari knocked out Mary Jane Buna stiff in 36 seconds at Matrix Fight Night 9. Brutal KO pic.twitter.com/gQuw3kXaA1
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) June 24, 2022
These will never not be scary.
Without a Doubt our KO of the night #jojocobraqueen
— Matrix Fight Night (@mfn_mma) July 1, 2022
.#MFN9 #MMA #knockoutpunch pic.twitter.com/ppxd7BPV6J
Tai Zhicheng vs. Zhou Xiaofei
Got 30 seconds to spare? Then watch this unbelievable fight between Tai Zhicheng and Zhou Xiaofei from a Jue Cheng King event that is available to watch on UFC Fight Pass.
Roller coaster 27 second fight between Zhicheng Tai and Xiaofei Zhou this morning at JCK. What a right hook from Zhicheng. pic.twitter.com/H87ph1HKie
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) June 26, 2022
Zhou had Tai completely turned around and it looked like the fight was in the bag before Tai uncorked a ridiculous bomb with his back against the cage. Watch that again. It’s not even a blind shot. Tai gathered himself, squared his opponent up, and threw with accuracy, all in the span of about three quarters of a second.
As crazy as that was, make sure you read about Aerdake Apaer’s perfectly timed spin kick KO, which is sure to end up on countless Knockout of the Year lists.
Liam Etebar vs. Tayron Chavarro
Ammari Diedrick vs. Mohamed Ghalab
Alain van der Merckt vs. Milan Simonovic
Tom Breese vs. Ahmed Sami
Just to remind you that there are levels to this, let’s end this feature with a visit to Amsterdam for Levels Fight League 5 (available via PPV replay).
Liam Etebar needed just 10 seconds to run through Tayron Chavarro and improve to 8-1.
WOW!!! Seconds!!!
— Levels Fight League (@LFL_MMA) June 26, 2022
@badboyetebar with a huge win on his LFL debut!!
Watch #LFL5 right now! Link in bio!! pic.twitter.com/opx2LVXPvT
That’s three straight KO victories for Etebar and they came in at 10 seconds, 16 seconds, and 68 seconds. Those opponents had a combined record of 2-2, but still!
Ammari Deidrick wins this week’s Reach Out and Touch Someone award after landing a head kick from the longest distance possible.
WHOA!!! HEADKICK KO!!
— Levels Fight League (@LFL_MMA) June 26, 2022
Ammari Diedrick with a devastating finish!! #LFL5 live right now! ➡️ Link in bio pic.twitter.com/w1jxnupchg
Mohamed Ghalab was inches away from safety, but on this day he ate just enough foot to seal his fate.
On the other hand, Alain van der Merckt got all of this right hand to clobber Milan Simonovic.
KNOCKOUT!!
— Levels Fight League (@LFL_MMA) June 26, 2022
Alain van der Merckt
Watch #LFL5 live right now!
➡️ Link in Bio ⬅️ pic.twitter.com/gsXgqYSNHP
That sound! Yikes.
And in the main event, former UFC middleweight Tom Breese continues to find success since parting ways with that promotion, successfully defending his LFL title with a submission of Ahmed Sami.
#AndStill #LFL5
— Levels Fight League (@LFL_MMA) June 26, 2022
Tom Breese retains the LFL middleweight title! pic.twitter.com/PYNtiN4IoX
Breese could never quite get his health on track during his time with the UFC, so it’s good to see him finding some traction on the international scene. Just 30 years old, I’d expect to see Breese competing for a North American promotion again before it’s all said and done.
That’s all for this week, folks. Remember, any fight that you can walk away from is a good one.
Double KO from last week's Colosseum MMA event, Russia pic.twitter.com/FHNLCvYYxa
— Matysek (@Matysek88) June 30, 2022
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 – @AlexanderKLee – using the hashtag #MissedFists.
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