Missed Fists: Mateusz Gamrot puts tight choke on Polish host, Maria Henderson wins pro debut with smooth submission

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.

It’s great for fighters to get on the talk-show circuit and showcase their personalities. Holly Holm, Amanda Nunes and UFC champ Holly Holm had a win lap with Kelly Ripa. Or Nate Diaz rubbing shoulders on the red carpet with Mario Lopez? You can’t spell mainstream without MMA, after all.

This week Mateusz Gamrot got some television time. He made the most out of it and left a lasting impression on his host.

(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. )

After his biggest UFC win, an unpopular decision to nod Arman Tsarukyan over him, Gamrot joined Maciej Turski at Hejt Park for a discussion and demonstration of a few submissions.

As you can see from the clip above, Gamrot may have gotten slightly carried away. Turski was not too concerned about the fact that they had to demonstrate it multiple times.

Still, if a top 10 UFC fighter offers to help you experience a choke firsthand, feel free to say “no.” That’s just my advice.

You can see Gamrot’s full two-hour appearance (!) You can watch the entire show, which is in Polish only, here :

Maria Henderson vs. Melanie McIntyre
Allan Begosso vs. Paris Stanford

Maria Henderson, the wife of Bellator fighter and former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson, has been doing damage as an amateur but she made her pro debut last Friday at LFA 135 (replay available on UFC Fight Pass) in Phoenix and it couldn’t have gone much better.

In a little under two minutes, Henderson caught opponent Melanie McIntyre with a beautiful keylock after securing a triangle. After scoring tap outs in her previous two amateur fights, Henderson now has a third consecutive submission victory. Maria is a long-standing member of Benson’s fight team. He was beaming at this win.

Allan Begosso is this week’s recipient of the I Want You To Want Me and I Kneed You To Kneed Me awards. He should feel very proud, as there were many good choices.

That’s a 45-second finish for Begosso, a 26-year-old fighter bantamweight out of Brazil who is currently training at Team Alpha Male. He’s now 7-1 with six finishes.

In case An Ho didn’t show you his insane head kick knockout you can check it out right here.

Lloyd McKinney vs. Santo Curatolo
Caleb Crump vs. Charlie Radtke

Also on UFC Fight Pass, CFFC 110 took place this past weekend in Tampa, Fla.

Lloyd McKinney concluded the show with a stunning knee knockout of Santo Curatolo, winning an interim lightweight title. He took advantage of Curatolo’s aggressiveness to score the final blow.

Congrats to McKinney and better luck next time to Curatolo, one of the hardest hitting flyweights out there. He won the CFFC lightweight title in the past with an incredible knockout of his own, but he was the nail on this night.

Caleb Crump gave us our Humpty Dumpty Fall of the Week, leaving Charlie Radke an absolute mess on the mat after landing what looked like a simple counter, but turned out to be a one-hitter quitter.

Juri Ohara vs. Yuma Ishizuka

Juri Ohara, a DEEP lightweight champion with an egregious soccer kick against Yuma Ishizuka, defended it in Tokyo.

That’s eight straight now for Ohara, who at 31 years old with 52 pro bouts under his belt, might just be hitting his stride.

Carlos Puente Jr. vs. Roger Blanque
Ricardo Ramirez vs. Jose Mercado

On a flipside, Combate Global in Miami has Carlos Puente Jr., who came into his fight with Roger Blanque after a six-fight losing streak. With this arm-triangle choke, he put an end to it.

That is a lot of squeeze and almost seems like he did it from back control. This is very unusual. Puente now has a pro record of. 500 (7-7) after that skid-snapper.

Earlier on the card, we have the kind of finish that typically only happens between inexperienced fighters, but I’m still tipping my cap to Ricardo Ramirez for this upkick KO.

Ramirez spotted him doing that kick right at the moment it was legal. Watch Jose Mercado’s reaction, it’s like he got smacked with a right hand haymaker. You won’t find better upkicks than this.

Nico Jefferson vs. Kurstan Davenport

At True Revelation 47 (shows available on Spectation Sports pay-per-view) in Burlington, Iowa, Nico Jefferson and Kurstan Davenport met in a matchup of fighters with a combined 3-13 record, so you knew someone was probably going to get hurt.

Case at point :

That right hand already put Davenport out, the follow-up left was right on the money, and then the canvas did the rest. Ugly stuff.

Kevin Borjas vs. Joseph Vieira

At Inka FC 34 in Lima, Peru, Kevin Borjas landed a sweet three-punch body shot combo to put away Joseph Vieira.

I’m especially inclined to highlight this finish as we just recently recorded a podcast celebrating the career of the recently retired Donald Cerrone, a man responsible for arguably the greatest finishing combination of all time. You can check out the DAMN episode! You’ll see my episode of They Were Good and we will let you know where Cerrone’s incredible portrayal of Rick Story is amongst the top.

That’s it for this week friends. Until next time, remember, everybody makes mistakes.

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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.