Missed Fists: Damien Anderson ends combat jiu-jitsu fight with wicked palm strike knockout

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 some of you may know, I’ve been leading a campaign to put a halt to the mixing of the martial arts that has plagued combat sports for the past 30 years. So far, my efforts have proven to be unsuccessful as the popularity of MMA has soared and fighters continue to make the case that kickboxing and wrestling and jiu-jitsu and everything else are a bunch of great tastes that taste great together.

But this week I present to you Exhibit A of why we must #KeepTheMartialArtsApart (let’s get this trending!). Because if we did, one young man’s face might still be intact.

(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.)

Damien Anderson vs. Adrian Madrid

Combat Jiu-Jitsu is exactly what it sounds like and this year’s 2022 Worlds event in Cancun, Mexico, featured one of the most brutal knockouts I’ve ever seen under this ruleset.

Punches are not allowed, but you are allowed to palm strike the ever-loving soul out of your opponent and that’s exactly what Damien Anderson did here to counter an Adrian Madrid leglock attempt.

Take a look at that again. You should just allow closed-fists strikes at that point because the force that a skilled fighter like Anderson can generate from that position with just his palm is insane. Dude may as well be wielding Mjolnir.

Again, #KeepTheMartialArtsApart. Tell your friends.

Combat Jiu-Jitsu Worlds 2022 is available for replay on UFC Fight Pass.

Marif Mazhidov vs. Artem Demin

Then again, sometimes just basic jiu-jitsu alone can lead to some pretty painful scenarios as Artem Demin found out the hard way. At an MMA Series event in Moscow, Demin broke the cardinal rule of never crossing your ankles when you have your opponent’s back and Marif Mazhidov taught him a quick and stern lesson.

I’m no jiu-jitsu expert, but one thing I’ve always been told is that the fighter on offense should either get the hooks in or lock in a body triangle. Under no circumstances do you leave your legs in position to get your ankles snapped.

In fairness, this was Mazhidov’s pro debut and Demin was just 0-1 heading into this contest, but still!

Jason Mullen vs. Christopher Miller
Eduardo Mora vs. Naren Tabares
Esteban Mora vs. Angelo Yepez

Demin wasn’t the only fighter succumbing to the graps this past week as we saw some neat submissions at Fury FC 64 in Houston (available on UFC Fight Pass) and Matchmaker MMA 2 in Bogota, Colombia (free replay available on Facebook).

Jason Mullen gave us our technique of the week with this awesome heel hook on a scrambling Christopher Miller.

Eduardo Mora wasn’t far behind though as he made Naren Tabares pay for not protecting his legs.

That’s about as nasty of a kneebar as you’ll see.

I also thoroughly enjoyed Esteban Mora’s inverted triangle submission of Angelo Yepez, though this one wasn’t all the technical so much as it was, uh, kind of dirty?

It’s hard to see the first infraction, but it looks like Mora at least snuck a finger into the fence as he jockeyed for position on Yepez’s back. Shortly after that, he blatantly grabs a handful of fence to secure the triangle hold, and gets a barely-there warning from the referee. Naturally, the warning proves inconsequential as Yepez tapped shortly thereafter.

Always. Cheat.

Moses Diaz vs. Carlos Cordoba Fonseca

You get a knockout in six seconds, you get a spot in Missed Fists. Them’s the rules and I’m not inclined to break them in this instance, especially since Moses Diaz also gave us our Humpty Dumpty Fall of the Week.

The Combate Global featherweight improved to 4-0 as a pro, with all of his wins coming by way of knockout. Keep an eye on his next fight as a step up in competition is sure to come.

Trey Waters vs. Benjamin Bennett

Diaz had the fastest knockout of the week, but the best knockout belongs to the LFA’s Trey Waters.

Sing it again.

Much like with Tony Gravely’s “what did he hit him with?” short uppercut KO of Johnny Munoz this past Saturday, Waters proved that with perfect timing you can use a seemingly innocuous strike to make an overly aggressive foe feel like they’ve just run into a Francis Ngannou haymaker.

Making the finish even better is that according to the commentary team, Waters was down on the cards. He won the fight with 23 seconds left on the clock and now he’s 6-0.

Cleibison Jacare vs. Gilmar Serrano
Brunno Ferreira vs. Adercine de Jesus

Two more big knockouts that demand attention happened at Big Shot MMA 3 (free replay available on YouTube) in Goiania, Brazil.

Cleibison Jacare landed a right hand on the button to completely wipe out Gilmar Serrano.

And Brunno Ferreira lived up to his “Hulk” nickname going full smash mode on Adercino de Jesus.

Ferreira, a 29-year-old middleweight, is now 8-0 with all of his wins coming by way of finish. He’s only been fighting since 2019 so there’s plenty of room for him to grow.

Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Matthew Strickland

At iKON FC 3 (available on UFC Fight Pass) in Richmond, Va., all the talk was about three-time NCAA wrestling champion Bo Nickal making his pro MMA debut and for good reason: the man delivered in spades.

But I’ll be damned if we don’t talk about Hamdy Abdelwahab’s show-closing knockout. His fight with Matthew Strickland actually took place after the main event and as you may know, I love postliminary fights. The only thing better than a postlim is a heavyweight postlim.

Yes, June 3, 2022, will likely go down in history as the start of a legendary run for Nickal and we probably won’t be talking about Abdelwahab’s sweet, sweet one-punch knockout next week much less years from now. But on this day, the big man gets the glory after winning what was the true main event.

Until next time, folks, remember: Be kind to yourself.

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