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\u2019s an MMA show every other day.<\/p>\n
We got some serious fisticuffs coming up with Canelo vs. Crawford going down Saturday night (you should be hyped for this event! Are you hyped???), and as much of a privilege as it is to see such a titanic boxing matchup, let\u2019s not forget that when it comes to crazy, cool shit happening, nothing beats an MMA fight.<\/p>\n
(Big thanks as always to @Barrelelapierna<\/a> for their weekly lists of the best KOs<\/a> and submissions, and to @Grabaka_Hitman<\/a> for uploading many of the clips you see here. Give them a follow and chip in on Patreon<\/a> if you can.)<\/p>\n Asad Kholbutaev vs. Qerib Necefov<\/p>\n Seriously, you think Canelo or Crawford can do something like this?<\/p>\n From an Amir Temur Fighting Championship event in Gulistan, Uzbekistan, that\u2019s Asad Kholbutaev doing his best Joaquin Buckley impression and smoking Qerib Necefov with a flying spin kick. Obviously, it\u2019s not as clean as Buckley\u2019s and Necefov doesn\u2019t go timber like Impa Kasanganay, but the bout was essentially over once that connected, let\u2019s not kid ourselves.<\/p>\n Major credit to Necefov for somehow staying conscious after that kick (he even protested the stoppage!). Still, the referee made the right call as he was only going to take more damage if the fight continued.<\/p>\n According to Tapology<\/a>, this is Kholbutaev\u2019s first fight. He has set the bar exceedingly high for himself.<\/p>\n You can watch a replay of ATF 23 for free on YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Anh Ha vs. Anh Duc Pham<\/p>\n And now, our first of five truly terrifying knee KOs.<\/p>\n The Anh Ha was smacking Anh Duc Pham up something fierce and it looked like he could end the fight with whatever technique he chose. What he chose was an absolute brain-rattler of a knee as he squared Pham up and threw his leg up with the force of jet rocket.<\/p>\n That was like something out of Bloodsport, but 100 times more brutal. Even Chong Li would be saying, \u201cWhoa, chill, brother.\u201c<\/p>\n Gods of Martials Arts 8 is available for free replay on YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ivan Sicaja vs. Pawel Politylo<\/p>\n At a Fight Nation Championship event in Zagreb, Croatia, Ivan Sicaja waited for his opponent to come to him and when the opportunity to knee presented itself, he didn\u2019t hesitate.<\/p>\n Pawel Politylo looked pretty spry himself until he got a little too close to Sicaja and paid the price. Jumping knee up the middle and then a nasty hammerfist for good measure.<\/p>\n Apologies, we have to interrupt our programming for a moment to showcase Tomislav Spahovic putting hands on Arturas Kudresovas.<\/p>\n Heaven help us, that was two meat hammers right on the button (a perfectly acceptable sentence only in the world of combat sports).<\/p>\n Chaz Comeaux vs. Dustin Apelt<\/p>\n Oh, you thought dynamite knees are only for the pros? Think again.<\/p>\n That\u2019s Chaz Comeaux, competing as an amateur for just the second time and making an absolute mess of opponent Dustin Apelt with a clean flying knee. He actually caught him with the left knee first, brushed him off, and then went airborne again to seal the deal.<\/p>\n Bayou FC 75 is available for free replay on YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\n Emerson Pedro vs. Mlungisi Mbizane Jr.<\/p>\n Emerson Pedro went from eating punches on the ground to springing up, taunting his opponent, and taking him out with a switch knee.<\/p>\n That escalated in a major way and Pedro\u2019s unbelievable knockout came with five seconds left in the fight. By the way, Pedro goes by \u201cThe Coolest Kid in Mozambique,\u201d a strong contender for the best MMA nickname.<\/p>\n Magomed Tuchalov vs. Khabib GazievAlex da Silva vs. Kurbanali Isabekov<\/p>\n You know, you throw enough of these knees around and you\u2019re really going to hurt somebody.<\/p>\n Magomed Tuchalov didn\u2019t just rock Khabib Gaziev here, his knee sliced the side of Gaziev\u2019s head open. The blood flowed so quickly, all three men in the cage instantly recognized the fight should not continue, allowing Tuchalov to walk off in style and Gaziev to receive medical attention. Everybody wins.<\/p>\n We can all agree knees rule, but sometimes a good haymaker just does the trick, too.<\/p>\n Alex da Silva never found his groove in the UFC and he\u2019s still working to find his footing with UAE Warriors, but he made a statement in his latest fight against Kurbanali Isabekov, loading up that right hand and landing a punch with his whole chest behind it.<\/p>\n UAE Warriors 63 is available for replay on UFC Fight Pass<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tivon Taylor vs. Arouna NtosengehNikolay Kiosse vs. Abdulaziz DatsilaevShawn Tillman vs. Marcelo Acosta-Ruiz<\/p>\n Also on Fight Pass (with prelims on YouTube<\/a>), we have something completely different: a nauseating submission instead of a wince-inducing knockout!<\/p>\n WARNING, there\u2019s a bone-chilling, bone-breaking in this next clip.<\/p>\n Tivon Taylor pulled off a truly gnarly reversal from bottom and quickly trapped Aroun Ntosengeh\u2019s arm in a keylock, leading to one of those unfortunate situations where Ntosengeh was in a ton of trouble before he even realized it. Watch how quickly that snap happens, Ntosengeh barely had time to even think of a counter.<\/p>\n This was Ntosengeh\u2019s pro debut, so let\u2019s hope he can bounce back from this one.<\/p>\n Nikolay Kiosse met Abdulaziz Datsilaev in the co-main event and the 28-year-old Russian continued the fine start to his career with an impressive right hand down the pipe.<\/p>\n That\u2019s three straight wins for Kiosse (10-3-1), who has also competed for ACA and recently won a featherweight belt in Naiza FC. He\u2019s only five years into his career, but that Contender Series call is looming.<\/p>\n In amateur action earlier on the card, Shawn Tillman added a LW title to his collection with this sudden head kick KO of Marcelo Acosta-Ruiz.<\/p>\n Kaito Yoshimura vs. Qiong Jia<\/p>\n Believe it or not, somehow, after all that, we might have finally arrived at the actual winner of this week\u2019s most savage-looking knockout. I am, of course, referring to Kaito Yoshimura\u2019s soccer kick at a DEEP event in Tokyo.<\/p>\n The most common criticism of the soccer kick is that it\u2019s used in situations where a stunned fighter is already close to being finished anyway, and adding in a big punt to the head might be considered unnecessary. That\u2019s not the case here.<\/p>\n Kaito booped Qiong Jia with a sneaky right, then perfectly timed his head kick just as Jia was rising back up. Watching it back (ouch ouch ouch), I\u2019m thinking that might actually have been legal under North America\u2019s unified rules, no?<\/p>\n Anyway, Kaito was apparently grateful to have his KO featured by the legendary caposa.<\/p>\n 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 X \u2014 @AlexanderKLee<\/a> \u2014 using the hashtag #MissedFists.<\/p>\n