Missed Fists – Fighters make beautiful submissions using kneebars from nowhere

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.

You may not know this about me, but I’m a sucker for a good leg lock. It’s something about fighters grabbing the limbs of unsuspecting opponents and forcing them into terrible angles that makes my eyes pop out. It feels like it’s something that shouldn’t work in modern MMA given the advances in grappling technique and defense across the board, which makes it extra sweet when it does.

I don’t even particularly enjoy the sight of it. In fact, it’s one of the few visuals in combat sports that consistently causes my stomach to turn. There’s a real horror movie appeal to it.

Now that you have read the above, I invite you to join me in enjoying this human train wreck.

(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. If you have the time, give them a like and join ‘s Patreon . )

An Ho vs. Enkhjargal Banzaragch
Justin Budd vs. Caleb Jensen
Demoreo Dennis vs. Trevor Wallace

Enkhjargal Banzaragch deserves our sympathies. There he was, just trying to work an underhook against the fence when An Ho had to go and get all jiu-jitsu about it.

With his right leg between Banzaragch and Ho, Ho immediately recognized an opportunity to move this person into danger. Watch him control the ankle all the way down as he sets up the kneebar. It was over by the time Banzaragch turned to his back.

At 22 and 3-0, Ho is establishing himself as one of the most thrilling prospects at 125 pounds. You might be wondering how he won his first submission win with a kick-circle.

Also at LFA 152 (available for replay on UFC Fight Pass), Justin Budd was spinning and winning with an awesome backfist KO.

Going full tornado on the regional scene usually leads to glory or calamity for the daring striker, but in this case we got a little of both as Budd completely whiffs on a kick before clanging the back of his hand across Caleb Jensen’s head. Was it a setup or a happy accident? Let the jury decide.

We also have to send some love to Demoreo Dennis for this ending.

Sure, the knockout itself wasn’t particularly memorable, but the heavyweight dancing afterwards definitely was.

Jake Pilla vs. Seth Basler
Charalampos Grigoriou vs. Chris Disonell
Mike Bezanson vs. John Bell

We recommended An Ho as a person to be on the lookout for and this is also true of Combat FC’s Jake Pilla.

The Massachusetts native added to his already impressive highlight reel this past weekend, locking in a Von Flue choke just 30 seconds into Round 1.

Pilla, 27, is already familiar name around these parts. Last July, he put Josh Krejci away in 25 seconds with a guillotine choke and he also made headlines when he handstand kicked Matt Brady in what would turn out to be his final amateur fight.

In the main event, Charalampos Grigoriou leg kicked his way to a vacant bantamweight title win, chopping Chris Disonell down in brutal fashion.

The official time of the stoppage was 4:01 into Round 5, so you can imagine that this was just a miserable fight for Disonell from bell to bell. You can see that this was a miserable fight for Disonell from bell to bell.

Also at Combat FC 3: Jorts.

UFC Fight Pass allows replay of the event.

Quentin Pasley vs. Jared Turcotte
Stanislov Rakov vs. Hannon Sanford
Miles Emery vs. Cody Dular
Glory Watson vs. Hilarie Rose

Shout out to the New England Fights team for giving me a Twitter heads up to let me know about some of the highlight-reel finishes from their recent show in Bangor, Maine. Are you interested in Missed Fists, too? Send me a message!

A few Nick Newell-trained amateur fighters displayed explosive finishes. Quentin Pasley won a vacant title as a light heavyweight boxer by beating Jared Turcotte. Stanislov Rakov was victorious via kick upside down.

In amateur heavyweight action, Miles Emery just swung a meat hammer with all of his strength to take out Cody Dular.

Not exactly Tyson Fury with the boxing there, but it got the job done.

It wasn’t just about amateurs, though. Pro strawweight Glory Watson made her case for an invitation to the main show with this fiery slam into the choke that would make Loma lookboonmee proud.

She beat Hilarie Rose, a Contender Series hopeful to her name. This was Watson’s fifth win since her pro debut. Watson has plenty of experience from her amateur days, so it is likely that she will soon be able to get her Contender Series title.

Bruno Azevedo vs. Talekh Gamidov

ONE Championship continues to run smaller shows in between their tentpole events, primarily focused on Muay Thai and kickboxing but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for the mixing of the martial arts.

Case in point, here’s Bruno Azevedo clubbing and subbing Talekh Gamidov at a One Friday Fights event in Bangkok (free replay available on YouTube).

Azevedo was able to rock Gamidov with his feet and transition to a submission attack, before finally getting the pleasure of a knockout. With a successful ONE debut under his belt, Azevedo has now won eight of his past nine fights to improve to 18-3 as a pro.

Arnaldo Moska vs. Ozias Junior

There’s slipping and countering, and then there’s what Arnaldo Moska did to Ozias Junior at a Spartacus MMA event in Sao Paulo.

You might have to run that one back a few times to fully appreciate what Moska did there. Besides punching really hard, Moska perfectly tilted his head back just enough to lure Junior in and leave him exposed to the fight-ending blow. It was so beautiful.

Raphael Silva vs. Gui Carvalho
Jose Gurilozo vs. Victor Hugo Xavier

And while we’re in Sao Paulo, let’s take a ride from the state capital over to Monte Alto, where Standout Fighting Tournament held an event (free replay available on YouTube) that featured MMA, kickboxing, and grappling.

Raphael Silva won the lightweight title in kickboxing with an impressive head kick.

There’s been plenty of discussion this week about how size matters in fights, but forget all the Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski chatter, THIS is an example of how much size matters. If Silva and Gui Carvalho were more evenly matched that counter kicked Carvalho would have bruised Carvalho’s spines. Instead, the kick landed right on Carvalho’s jaw as Carvalho attempted to grab a right-hand.

Lastly, I told you we got kneebars this week so you’re getting kneebars.

Jose Gurilozo was possessed by something. It’s possible that Jose Gurilozo became jiujitsu-hungry and took control of his body. He decided to surrender top control for the kneebar. That looked amazing.

This finish occurred with a little over 10 seconds remaining in the first round, so perhaps this was just timely coaching and finishing instincts from Gurilozo. He could be a lousy, unmotivated man, who doesn’t like taking rounds. He needs to take limbs.

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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.

Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/2/17/23604067/missed-fists-fighters-wrap-up-beautiful-submissions-with-kneebars-out-of-nowhere?rand=96749