Missed Fists: Fighter crushes foe with one of the nastiest standing elbow knockouts ever, more

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.

Full confession: We had no idea what to lead with this week. Not because there was a dearth of choices, in fact, it was the opposite. There were so many insane finishes this week that just picking one as the headliner felt wrong.

So with apologies to two of the year’s flashiest kick knockouts, let’s go in a different direction with a standing elbow finish that ranks among the best we’ve ever seen.

(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.)

Sharaputdin Magomedov vs. Mikhail Allakhverdian

AL: With his fiery red beard, Sharaputdin Magomedov probably stands out wherever he goes anyway, but the Russian middleweight is definitely going to be on a lot more people’s radar after landing this unbelievable elbow at AMC Fight Nights in Sochi last week.

JM: I have not been here for a while so perhaps this is just because I’m not as used to the violence as before but DAMN. That looked unpleasant.

AL: That orbital has to have just been disintegrated.

You can watch free full fights from this event on the Fight Nights YouTube channel.

Zurab Akhmedov vs. Shakhrukzhan Valzhan Uulu

Next, from Motiv Warriors 1 also in Sochi, here’s Zurab Akhmedov’s stunning spinning wheel kick KO of a petrified-looking Shakhrukzhan Valzhan Uulu.

Be straight with me, should this have led the show instead?

JM: Yeah, no clue why this wasn’t the top spot. Can you imagine what it’s like to spend all that time training and preparing? Months? And then you finally get to fight day, you enter the cage, the bout starts and the first thing that happens is you get heeled into oblivion? That has to be so demoralizing.

AL: Imagine how the other guy feels, doing all that and still not being featured in the Missed Fists headline.

A free replay of Motiv Warriors inaugural event is available on YouTube.

Andreia Oro vs. Sil Oliveira
Victor Ferreira vs. Joab Xaropinho

Hot off the presses here’s a couple of KOs that happened in Brazil just Thursday.

At a Nacao Cyborg event (available on YouTube) in Bocaiuva do Sul, amateur Andreia Oro hit a whippet-quick back hand out of nowhere that floored Sil Oliveira.

JM: From the minute this video started, I knew what was going to happen and to whom. Some people are fighters and some people should move into a different career. Easy to tell who is who in this case.

AL: And at a Road to Shooto Brazil (also available on YouTube) event in Manaus, Victor Ferreira obliterated Joab Xaropinho with a right hook that may have also caused an impromptu light show?

JM: Hope no one at the show had epilepsy. Also, can we talk about the cage for a second? That is the cage of champions. Thing is half the size of a phone booth. All MMA should be contested in such a venue.

AL: Yeah. I guess it’s no surprise that someone got walked down and put out.

AL: The only reason Justin Barry’s absurd crescent kick KO from Cage Warriors 130 is this far down the feature is because it’s part of a block of UFC Fight Pass highlights. That’s the excuse I’m using for this blatant disrespect of one of the year’s best kicks anyway.

JM: I refuse to call that a crescent kick. In the words of the esteemed E. Casey Leydon, that’s a leg uppercut.

AL: This was Barry’s pro debut, but it definitely looked like a favorable matchup for him. Just look at the height difference. He was piecing Alan Benson up before the finish.

There was no “before” in this next clip as it only took Damon Wilson 11 seconds to hammer Theodore Macuka.

JM: Strong start to a career right there, inventing new ways to beat ass.

AL: At Fury Fighting Championship 52 in Houston, Jacob Silva weathered the opening wrestling attack of Tyler Bialecki and eventually turned the situation into a highlight-reel submission (an inverted triangle keylock according to Sherdog).

You can see that Bialecki was so focused on maintaining top control that he didn’t make any attempt to stop Silva from putting his legs to work. Then, boom, triangle.

JM: I love when fighters secure weird positions and then finish with a totally different submission than is anticipated. Finishing from an inverted triangle position is half impossible, so moving to the key lock is brilliant.

AL: And we couldn’t leave out Carlos Camargo’s one-hitter quitter from Lux Fight League 17 in Monterrey, Mexico.

That’s about as clean as a punch can land.

JM: I’m unsure what Eduardo Rodriguez was doing from a defensive standpoint there. You gotta block punches with something other than your chin.

Dzhamaludin Aliev vs. Lucas Ananias
Max Lima vs. Kirill Tropinin
Tomislav Milic vs. Adrian Radovanovic

AL: At Serbian Battle Championship 36 in Zrenjanin, Serbia, we had not one, but TWO jumping knee KOs, the first courtesy of 22-year-old featherweight prospect Dzhamaludin Aliev.

JM: You’ve got to respect Aliev’s steadfast commitment to landing that jumping knee. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

AL: Demolidor-esque, Joe.

Aliev is 7-0 now with all of his wins coming by way of knockout. His past two wins have come against experienced competition as well, so he’s headed down the right track.

More experienced than Aliev, but no less rambunctious is Max Lima, who landed an impressive knee of his own.

JM: This clip should’ve led things off. Not because of the KO—which was admittedly dope— but because of Lima’s adorable little skipping coffin nail punch. It was like the younger brother to Dan Henderson’s Bisping-killer. Charming.

AL: H-Bomb junior.

Now for what I like to call the “Fools Rush In” portion of the program. Let’s start with Tomislav Milic, who made Adrian Radovanovic pay for a sloppy shot with a punch right down the middle.

JM: I know nothing about Milic but I would bet my last two bucks that he is a karate guy. Eastern European Wonderboy.

Anthony Laurent vs. Karim Younes

AL: At a Hard Fighting Championship amateur event in Switzerland, Anthony Laurent made Karim Younes feel like he’d just ran full speed into the edge of a kitchen counter with this body shot.

JM: Oof. To your description, not the KO. I mean, yeah, the KO was nasty too but damn, dude. It’s too early to be thinking about running into countertops.

AL: We’ve all been there.

Leonard Akhmetov vs. Orzubek Sharifov

By the way, the whole Fools Rush In thing isn’t always a bad thing. Just ask Leonard Akhmetov, who just waded into Orzubek Sharifov’s personal space for a four-second finish!

What did he hit him with?

JM: A leaping left hook to the temple. One shot, one kill. Shades of Francis Ngannou vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

Kameeko Hall vs. DeEric Wright

AL: What better way to close out Missed Fists this week than with a knockout paired with a fine musical choice?

Kameeko Hall swung for the fences here, but the real home-run hitter was whoever chose to break out the Drowning Pool classic Bodies to accompany this highlight.

JM: I don’t know who was hurt worse, that dude or my earballs when I unmuted that video. Jeez, dude. We get it, you’re angry. No need to yell about it.

AL: Impossible question to answer, but let’s throw it out there:

Bodies or Face the Pain?

JM: It’s time to end this suffering. I need a minute to myself.

---

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 – @JedKMeshew and @AlexanderKLee – using the hashtag #MissedFists.