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.
Wrestling has long been considered the strongest base for MMA, with conventional wisdom telling us that having the ability to control where a fight goes fundamentally gives one an advantage. We’ve also seen our fair share of slam knockouts over the years, so it’s truly possible to weaponize the takedown if done right.
But this? This is ridiculous.
(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.)
Issa Salem vs. Mostafa Abdel Salam
That bizarre finish you’re watching was unearthed by Matysek from an Evo Championship event that actually took place on June 13. The show wasn’t uploaded to YouTube until this past weekend for reasons that are unclear, but perhaps had something to do with them wanting to piggyback off of searches for the more well-known Evolution Championship Series a.k.a. EVO. But that’s just my theory.
Anyway, the main event saw Issa Salem take on Mostafa Abdel Salam and that’s Salem scoring the takedown just seconds into the fight and Salam’s corner apparently stepping in to save their fighter. Suffice to say, it’s an incredibly bizarre moment, especially since it was only two weeks ago that we saw Mohammad Yahya’s corner refuse to throw in the towel despite Yahya setting the UFC record for the most times being knocked down in a round.
According to Sherdog’s Jay Pettry, Salam had an existing shoulder injury and once he went down on said shoulder, his coach decided he’d seen enough.
It’s not crystal clear, but you can definitely hear someone yelling “Stop” multiple times the moment Salem secures the takedown. The referee jumps in immediately and there’s little complaint afterwards, making me wonder if there was some pre-fight discussion between the parties involved. I guess we just shrug our shoulders and move on?
You can watch a free replay of Evo Championship 112 on YouTube.
OK, that was all super weird. Now how about some head kicks?
Antonio Munoz vs. Zach BinkinzZhane Tannous vs. Stefan BooysenGabriel Alemao vs. Joao VictorDuc Manh Luu vs. K-Pa Thuan
We start off in exotic, uh, Chesterfield, Mo., where Antonio Munoz froze Zach Binkinz with a front kick at Nemesis Fighting Alliance 21.
This fight lasted 27 seconds and somehow Munoz managed to sneak in a speedy right after landing the finishing shot, plus he nailed the walk-off and the accidental mouthpiece spit. Top marks.
Over at EFC Worldwide 126 in Sandton, South Africa, Zhane Tannous needed just 14 seconds to smack Stefan Booysen with what I thought was a front kick, but Caposa described as a crescent kick and others in the replies suggested is an “inverted” front kick.
At Fight Music Show in Brazil (check out full fights from the promotion for free on their YouTube channel), Gabriel Alemao definitely won the award for nastiest head kick of the week with this absurd switchup on Joao Victor.
Flawless knee tap to high kick and you’ve got yourself one KO’d opponent right there.
Lastly, there was nothing fancy about what Duc Manh Luu did at God of Martial Arts 7 in Ho Chi Minh City.
There is no finer strategy than kicking someone in the head so hard you knock every single bead of sweat out of their hair.
You can watch a free replay of GMA 7 on YouTube.
Humberto Bandenay vs. Erick Sanchez
What’s this? A submission? Truly, there is more than one way to put someone to sleep with your legs.
Former UFC fighter Humberto Bandenay never quite took off in the octagon, but he’s been grinding away since parting ways with the promotion in 2019, winning 11 of his past 14 contests. That includes this triangle choke-out of Erick Sanchez at A1 Combat 29 (replay available on UFC Fight Pass).
He’s 30 now and I wouldn’t mind seeing an older, more mature Bandaney get another crack at the UFC somewhere down the road.
Diego Garcia vs. Julian RodriguezDaniel Sanchez vs. Adrian Oviedo
Did someone say “crack?” Oh, it was me? SEGUE.
From Budo Sento Championship 30 (also available on Fight Pass):
You can’t actually hear the sound of Diego Garcia’s backfist here, but I’m confident it made a satisfying bang for those sitting cageside. Julian Rodriguez certainly reacted like someone just dinged him in the dome with a frying pan (though I guess that would be more of a “gong” than a “crack” sound. That segue didn’t land as I’d hoped).
In the main event, Daniel Sanchez landed a string of punches on Adrian Oviedo to crumble him against the fence and win the welterweight title.
That was an eight-punch combo, at least, everything hitting.
That’s all for this week, but ICYMI, make sure to watch the amateur fighter who emulated Max Holloway’s point-down but ended up face-down like Justin Gaethje.
And remember last week when we led with a big KO followed by an embarrassing post-fight face-plant? That guy might have started an unfortunate trend.
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.
