Missed Fists: Woman fights 75-year-old grandfather and grandson in 2 vs. 1 match

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.

As a great band once said, “It’s such a fine line between stupid and clever.”

That’s an adage that’s especially true in combat sports and folks, I can say with confidence that we vaulted over that line this week with the latest from Russia’s Epic Fighting Championship.

(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.)

Yulia Mishko vs. Vladimir Spartak and “Big Igibob”
Vitaly Bykov vs. Ramzan Amsadoev and Vladislav Popov
Grigory Chistyakov vs. Aleksandra Stepakova

If you’re wondering why the above looks like a bizarre mishmash and mismatch of names, then don’t worry, that just means your brain is functioning properly. This past Wednesday, Epic Fighting Championship put on not just a show with 2 vs. 1 matches and intergender matches, they merged the concept for this card’s opening bout that featured a woman fighting a 75-year-old man and his grandson (known as “Big Igibob”).

I don’t like this.

Surprisingly, Yulia Mishko actually shows some good instincts in the fight, not allowing her opponents to cut off the cage and staying patient throughout. She actually starts landing some bombs in Round 2 and oh my goodness why am I commenting on this as if it’s an actual thing???

You can watch the whole show for yourself on YouTube, but be warned, this is only the icing on an indigestible cake. Luckily for us, if you only want a small slice, several clips were uploaded to Twitter by the ever-resourceful @Matysek88.

Mishko ends up going to a draw with the pair, which wouldn’t happen under unified scoring rules as she clearly landed the most damaging shots of the fight. It’s a safe bet that Vladimir Spartak and Igibob had an advantage in total strikes though.

Up next was another 2 vs. 1 match, this time featuring Vitaly Bykov taking on Ramzan Amsadoev and Vladislav Popov. And remember what I said, we’re only sinking lower into the depths here, folks.

The fight barely starts before one of Bykov’s pals (presumably) jumps into the cage to even the score, which somehow does not make this a no contest and the bout just continues from there.

Credit to Amsadoev and Popov once the fight gets going, they use the tried-and-true tactic of one fighter holding while the other punches, pioneered by Fight Circus’ Bank and No Money. It doesn’t last though as Popov somehow gets disqualified (I can’t imagine what could possibly be considered breaking the rules in this kind of contest), leaving Amsadoev alone to get submitted by Bykov.

This is dumb. And so is this:

Remember Grigory Chistyakov? Of course you do. He’s the large man who lost a fight to a much smaller woman back in November 2020, with that fighter Darina Mazdyuklater later signing with Bellator and making an unsuccessful promotional debut this past October.

Well, he’s slimmed down to 200 kg. (approx. 440 pounds) for a fight with another woman, Aleksandra Stepakova, who tipped the scales at 52 kg. (approx. 115 pounds). It’s a dull affair beyond the freakshow aspect of it and Chistyakov ends up winning a decision, so we don’t even get the satisfaction of David dropping Goliath here.

Listen, this is Missed Fists, we don’t judge, but we may have to put a moratorium on these kinds of gratuitous stunts and contrived brawls for the time being as the gimmicks are becoming more and more transparent and less and less fun. So as always, nothing but respect for anyone who decides to try their hand at fighting, but maybe promoters don’t need to be throwing these untrained people into a cage just to make a buck.

Jhonny Carlos vs. Cesar Benitez

Time for a palette cleanser.

From a Number 1 MMA show in Ceara, Brazil, Jhonny Carlos did the right thing after a vicious bop on Cesar Benitez.

Carlos had all day to throw a follow-up shot and thankfully didn’t. See, now that is good wholesome MMA like mom used to make (ignore that Benitez fell to 9-18 with 15 of his losses coming by way of knockout or submission). Well done, Carlos!

You can watch Number 1 MMA 3 for yourself on YouTube.

Alisson Lopes vs. Henrique Silva
Carlos Eduardo Lima vs. Maicon Zompero

Over in Sao Paulo at a Brazilian Fighting Series event (free replay available on YouTube) there was some more apparent mismatchery going on as Alisson Lopes dispatched a free-swinging Henrique Silva.

By the way, this Henrique Silva is not to be confused with Henrique da Silva or Luis Henrique, both of whom competed in the UFC. Though you could probably tell after watching our Henrique throw a single strike.

Far more accurate was Carlos Eduardo Lima, who felled Maicon Zompero with a sniper shot that perfectly reflects his nickname, “Kadu Bullet.”

Devin Dunn vs. Jacob Weeks
Alejandro Gomez vs. Jene Zarbano
Gauge Young vs. David Evans
Jesse Butler vs. Masio Fullen
Eduardo Dantas vs. Jose Alday
Isaac Dulgarian vs. TeeJay Britton
Eddie Fraire vs. Victor Gonzalez

With Dana White and the Nelk Boys in Independence, Mo., this past weekend, you can bet that all of the fighters at Fighting Alliance Championship 12 were on their best behavior. “Best” meaning “worst” in this case.

The hook of this “Lookin’ for a Fight” event was that the Nelk Boys would be offering a Full Send (that’s their brand) sponsorship to one lucky fighter and while it wasn’t clear what that entails, it can’t hurt for an up-and-coming fighter to have a famous name behind them.

Amateurs David Dunn and Alejandro Gomez both put their best foot forward by trying to take their opponents’ arms back home.

I’m not even sure what Gomez was doing with Zarbano’s arm there, but I’m glad that Zarbano chose tap over snap.

Gauge Young (amazing name) uncorked a ridiculous right hand that went right through David Evans’ face.

And Jesse Butler topped that by clobbering UFC veteran Masio Fullen and giving us our Humpty Dumpty Fall of the Week.

Two names that stood out on the card when it was announced were former Bellator champion Eduardo Dantas and Combate veteran Jose Alday. Honestly, either of these guys could have just been signed to the UFC without all of this pomp and circumstance and nobody would have complained.

Dantas made the most of the opportunity anyway.

Alday is solid, but Dantas showed him that there are levels to this with that nasty head kick. I mean, this guy has fought elite 135ers and trained for years with Jose freakin’ Aldo. What did they think was going to happen here?

As far as we know, Dantas was not one of the fighters offered a contract after FAC 12; instead, that honor and the illustrious Full Send sponsorship went to Isaac Dulgarian according to a report from BJPenn.com.

His ice cold ground-and-pound knockout of TeeJay Britton was unquestionably eye-catching.

I have to confess I don’t know what a Nelk Boy is, but I would hope that all of these fighters got a shout-out on their YouTubes or whatever it is the kids are watching these days.

FAC 12 is available on UFC Fight Pass, as is Fury FC 56, which is where our last (and shortest) highlight of the week originates from.

Did you blink? You missed it, didn’t you? That’s how fast Eddie Fraire’s right hand knockout of Victor Gonzalez was. Seriously, where the hell did that punch come from? Gonzales clearly didn’t have the answer as it put him down for the count just 12 seconds into the fight.

If Fraire keeps throwing punches like that, he’ll force us to tape our eyelids open should he eventually make it to the big leagues.

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.