Missed Fists: Insane 6-second head kick knockout sends mouthpiece flying

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.

We don’t talk enough about the importance of having proper equipment before stepping into the cage.

Obviously, a proper set of gloves is essential, though that sort of thing that should be taken care of by the promotion, so no issue there. Then there’s the matter of having a sturdy cup to deal with those pesky below-the-belt shots. And, of course, you want to have a well-fitted mouthpiece, to protect your jaw and reduce impact.

Just be sure to collect said mouthpiece should an opponent be so uncouth that they forcibly remove it with their foot in the middle of a fight.

(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.)

Biniyam Shibre vs. Joshua Simpson

At a 559 Fights amateur event in Visalia, Calif., Biniyam Shibre ended a fight with two incredibly painful-looking kicks, the second of which caught Joshua Simpson flush on the jaw to send his mouthpiece hurtling towards the fence.

See another angle of the airborne object here.

That thing almost became a souvenir for one lucky fan.

You can watch more full matches from 559 Fights on their YouTube page.

I don’t know what possessed Shibre on this day, but he needed all of six seconds to score the week’s best knockout, narrowly edging out a similar finish that happened at a Road FC show in Seoul.

Tae Young Yoon vs. Young Chul Lee
Vitaliy Mironyuk vs. Jin Guk Kim

Another savage head kick. Another fighter left senseless. Another mouthpiece that made a valiant effort to stay in place, only to be violently set free.

Tae Young Yoon took advantage of Young Chul Lee’s lapse in defense and didn’t miss, landing the kind of kick that you only dream about connecting with in practice.

According to Tapology, this was Lee’s first MMA fight since 2004. I don’t know what compelled him to compete again, but let’s hope that he’s scratched that itch because his comeback couldn’t have gone much worse.

Also at Road FC 62 (free replay available on YouTube), Vitaliy Mironyuk pulled off a sweet baseball bat choke on Jin Guk Kim, a submission finish that would have led Missed Fists on many other weeks.

Xia Lianyang vs. Cheng Jin

Taking a quick flight south to a World Kings Glory MMA event in Shenzhen, China, we had the ugliest knockout of the week as Xia Lianyang was inexplicably allowed to tee off on opponent Cheng Jin, who was as lively as a scarecrow by the end of this finishing sequence.

I don’t even want to count how many unanswered shots that was. Just a horrible visual and a disappointing effort from the referee, who may as well have been watching this fight from the nosebleeds.

Tuerxun Jumabieke vs. Yaser Ashayeri

Let’s conclude this glimpse of the Asian MMA scene with a journey to the other side of the continent and catch up with a former UFC fighter competing at an Octagon League event in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Yup, that’s former UFC bantamweight Teurxun Jumabieke, who sadly didn’t have much luck with that promotion, going 0-3 inside the octagon in 2014. He popped up on North American radar again in 2018, going 0-3 for the PFL as a featherweight, and has since moved up to lightweight.

It’s good to see Jumabieke still in action and brawling his way to a highlight-reel knockout, his first finish via strikes in over five years.

Octagon League 38 is available for free replay on YouTube.

Fabio De Luca vs. Alessio Ibba
Chris Vasil vs. Frank Wells
Billy Ray Valdez vs. Ian Allston
Cameron Smotherman vs. Adam Martinez

This past weekend, UFC Fight Pass provided plenty of highlights from promotions looking to end their 2022 campaigns with a bang.

It’s no baseball choke, but Fabio De Luca’s slow-developing inverted triangle from Venator FC 13 in Chieti, Italy, deserves plenty of shine.

Alessio Ibba actually fought out of a traditional triangle choke to get to this situation, but De Luca stayed busy with the legs and put Ibba in an even worse position. You can immediately see the regret on Ibba’s face when he realizes that it’s time to tap.

At Cage Fury FC 116 in Atlantic City, Chris Vasil had a takedown stuffed, but made the most of the failed attempt. Like, the most most.

I can’t tell if Frank Wells was looking to counter-shoot immediately here and that’s what cost him, but regardless, what a perfectly timed knee by Vasil. This is the third fight in Vasil’s past four appearances that has ended in the third round (including an amazing wheel kick that he was on the receiving end of), so pay extra close attention to this guy once the first 10 minutes have passed.

On that same show, heavyweight Billy Ray Valdez experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of low (blows) in his pro debut.

At Fury FC 72 in Houston, Cameron Smotherman had a corker of a walk-off as he caught Adam Martinez with his hands down.

Seriously, I’m not sure what Martinez is doing their from a defensive standpoint (nothing would be a fair assessment), but Smotherman saw an opening and just rifled a left hand in there that had KO blow written all over it.

Tyago Moreira vs. Claudio Rocha

The KOs just kept on coming this past weekend and there’s no way we could leave Tyago Moreiara’s wicked flying knee out of Missed Fists.

That combo was one punch away from being a legit “three-piece and a soda” finish.

Standout Fighting Tournament 38 is available for free replay on YouTube.

Phruethukorn Chaichongcharden vs. Medhi Nefzi
Jenny Gotti vs. Maria Casanova
Cedric Doumbe vs. Florent Burillon

The French MMA scene continued to grow this past year and we saw a few delightful finishes at a Mixed Martial Arts Grand Prix event in Bordeaux to close things out.

Phruethukorn Chaichongcharden absolutely crushed Medhi Nefzi head kick that caused a delayed fall and you know what? It’s the holiday season, I’m giving Chaichongcharden credit for the walk-off.

I wish I could say the same for Jenny Gotti, who made Maria Casanova pay for a careless leg kick with an overhand right that Casanova was not coming back from.

And in a classic case of burying the lede, kickboxing star Cedric Doumbe improved to 3-0 in the main event with this workmanlike knockout of Florent Burillon.

I still don’t quite understand what happened with Doumbe’s aborted UFC debut, but let’s get this man on a big card sometime in 2023. Best case scenario: He messes around and becomes a UFC champion. A statement that would have sounded bizarre before 2022 and Alex Pereira happened.

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.