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.
Howdy, folks! This is normally where Alexander K. Lee logs in to run you down the best highlights from the past week of action outside the biggest players in MMA. Fortunately for AK, though, he’s on a well-earned vacation and as a result, you’re stuck with the B Squad this week. Luckily, there was still the same amount of violent finishes and wacky outcomes this week, starting with the perhaps the most MMA thing to happen this year.
(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.)
Raiymbek Asan vs. Ma Xudong Jingwutida
Last weekend in Qoneav, Kazakhstan Octagon 77 went down, from their outdoor arena/race track (more on that in just a moment. In a prelim bout, Raiymbek Asan squared off with 19-year-old fighter Ma Xudong Jingwutida. While Xudonghad some success on the feet, Asan’s grappling that gave him fits, and that was not helped by a technical malfunction during the second round when the lights went off.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: ‘Kyle, why would the lights going off affect the fight? They’d just stop the action and wait,” and Kyle, that’s where you’re wrong.
Asan was attacking an arm-triangle choke when the arena lights went out, turning the cage black. However, the referee appeared to believe he could see well enough and allowed the fight to continue, despite the bout being nearly impossible to view at home.
It’s one of the crazier things I’ve ever seen to simply allow a fight to continue on in nearly pitch black, with fans in attendance and online functionally unable to see what was going on. Perhaps Octagon spent all their budget on sick “drift-outs” to the cage.
After the round ended, Octagon was able to get things back in hand and the final round continued without a hitch, with Asan winning a unanimous decision. You can check out the full Octagon event below.
Nicholas Moses vs. Devante Anderson
Last Saturday, American Kombat Alliance held an event in Lake Charles, LA, and on the prelims, Nicholas Mosses scored a quick finish over his opponent, Devante Anderson in their amateur fight.
Anderson secured a takedown right at the start of the fight, but as Moses played defense from his guard, Anderson stood up to pass. That proved to be a mistake as a well-timed upkick caught him on the temple and sent Anderson crashing to the floor like a piece of lumber that falls from the aisles in Home Depot.
Taisei Sekino vs. Ryo Sakai
Speaking of kicks, they say soccer (football to the non-Americans) is the beautiful game, and I guess that makes Taisei Sekino a gorgeous monster, because last week, the 10-6 super heavyweight kicked Ryo Sakai’s soccer ball-ish head nearly off his shoulders to claim the vacant DEEP superheavyweight title in Tokyo.
That one is gonna leave a mark.
Ilya Fomochkin vs. Mekhrob Mirzorakhmonov
But enough with the kicks, how about some good, old-fashioned ultraviolence?
While Lerone Murphy landed the elbow everyone remembers this past weekend, Ilya Fomochikn didn’t do so bad himself. Against Mekhrob Mirzoakhmonov, Fomochikn found himself in the clinch early on in his pro debut, and when he forced the break, Mirzoakhmonov found himself staring down at the canvas from a devastating elbow that put Mirzoakhmonov out COLD.
Truly one of the great joys of MMA fandom is the spinning wheel kick. Edson Barboza bless.
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 — @AlexanderKLee — using the hashtag #MissedFists.