Missed Fists: Fighter rocks her opponent with chilling one-punch knockout

27/10/2023 15:00

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.

Halloween is just around the corner, so there's no better way to celebrate than with some of the spookiest and kookiest finishes from the international and regional scene.

(Big thanks as always to @Barrelelapierna for their weekly lists of the best KOs and submissions, and to @GrabakaHitman for uploading many of the clips you see here. Give them a follow and chip in on Patreon if you can.)

Jessika Silva vs. Jocilene Santana

Yup, "scary" definitely suits this knockout by Jessika Silva from a Standout Fighting Tournament event in Sao Paulo this past weekend.

Kickboxing matches with MMA gloves are often a recipe for excitement and Silva stuck to the formula with this absolute leveling of Jocilene Santana. Those kicks from Santana barely registered with Silva, who marched forward like Wanderlei before letting her hands fly. You can see Santana instantly go out and the landing definitely isn't doing her any favors.

You can watch a free replay of SFT 43 on YouTube.

Jack Axworthy vs. Alex Budoiu
Matiss Zaharovs vs. Leandro Lima

At Anthony Pettis FC 8 in Manchester, England, we had a couple of KOs that were more than worthy of being included in Missed Fists.

Get it, because that guy's name is Jack Axworthy. Hehehehehehehe…

Seriously though, amazing spin kick KO. But maybe not even the best spinning knockout from this show?

Here's Matiss Zaharovs with the blink-and-you-missed-it finish of the week.

How does one even train for this? What does the team tell the fighter when they show up for their next spar? "Watch out for the spinning backfist no human being could possibly see coming?" Just a brutal game.

APFC 8 is available for replay on UFC Fight Pass.

Charles Rosa vs. Jonathan Gary

On a lighter note, let's check in on recently released UFC veteran Charles Rosa who made a successful return to CES with a submission of Jonathan Gary.

A nice moment for Rosa, who scores his first win since a split nod over Justin Jaynes in 2021. The moment was made even better by Rosa's post-fight gesture as he donated his winnings to charity.

You can watch Rosa's fight and the rest of CES 75 free on Facebook.

Now back to fighters doing horrible things to each other.

Kamil Piatkiewicz vs. Kamil Uchman

In an amateur contest from Octagon Fight League 13 (free replay on YouTube) in Zawiercie, Poland, Kamil Piatkiewicz caught Kamil Uchman with a beautiful snapping head kick for the win.

I say it all the time, I understand the need for amateur MMA, but man, knowing that neither of these guys were paid a dime for this fight makes me uneasy.

Mukhamadzhon Kurbanov vs. Farkhod Davlyatov
Kerim Daudov vs. Rafael Celestino
Aleksandra Savicheva vs. Anastasia Dyuzhikova
Zhasulan Meyrmanov vs. Asliddin Odilov
Murad Ibragimov vs. Beknazar Esenbaev

Over at not-to-be-confused-with-Octagon-Fight-League Octagon 51 (free replay on YouTube) in Almaty, Kazakhstan, fans were blessed with multiple highlight of the night-worthy finishes, with the best happening in the main event.

Featherweight champion Mukhamadzhon Kurbanov ended his first title defense in style, dropping Farkhod Davlyatov with a wicked straight left on the money.

Kurbanov is 3-0 in 2023, all finishes, and is deserving of at least an honorable mention when we start handing out year-end awards.

Kerim Daudov hasn't had a bad year either as he capped off a 3-0 campaign with this eight-second KO of Rafael Celestino.

Three fights in 2023, three first-round finishes all coming in under 90 seconds. One to watch, for sure.

While we're doing recaps for Octagon fighters, we should also point out the fine sophomore campaign of flyweight Aleksandra Savicheva. She out-struck and submitted champion Anastasia Dyuzhikova to improve to 3-1 on the year.

Earlier on the card, Zhasulan Meyrmanov and Asliddin Odilov went hammer and tongs before Meyrmanov ended the fight with a standing guillotine choke.

Great awareness by referee Tilek Bapanov to recognize Odilov was out and catch him before he fell to the mat.

Beknazar Esenbaev wasn't so lucky as he was tossed around like a chew toy by Murad Ibragimov. Ibragimov then proceeded to play the drum break from In the Air Tonight on Esenbaev's head to secure the win.

And that's as good a way as any for us to sign off this week.

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.