Welcome to the latest edition of Missed Fists, in which we shine a light on fights from across the globe that may have been overlooked in these hectic times where it seems as if there’s an MMA show every other day.
I don’t know about you, but generally, I like faces. Pretty faces, handsome faces, ugly faces, fat faces, skinny faces, happy faces, sad faces — you name it, I’m a fan.
So it’s a little upsetting how this week’s collection of highlights features so many fighters seemingly determined to kick their opponents’ faces off. But this is the life we chose.
(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.)
Patryk Ozog vs. Merab Mamporia
Lukasz Klos vs. Pawel Podkanski
Our first clip of the week comes from a Carpathian Warriors event in Rzeszow, Poland. That promotion name immediately brings to mind the Ghostbusters 2 villain Vigo the Carpathian a.k.a. Vigo the Cruel, Vigo the Torturer, Vigo the Despised, and Vigo the Unholy.
Any one of those is a fitting description for Patryk Ozog after what he did to Merab Mamporia this past weekend.
Unbelievable flying kick KO by Patryk Ożóg at Carpathian Warriors. Merab Mamporia was stretchered out of the cage. Holy shitt pic.twitter.com/XRk5cSSRoi
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) October 1, 2022
That clip is just all bad news for Mamporia. First, Ozog shakes him up with a jab, then Ozog just empties his Super Meter and delivers The Flying Switch Kick From Hell from across the cage, landing it perfectly on target. For good measure, he lands one more left hand on the ground.
Here’s another angle:
Another angle of Patryk Ożóg’s running flying switch kick Saturday pic.twitter.com/aolf8Ncccf
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) October 3, 2022
That makes for a pretty sweet Jumpman-style logo if you pause it at the right point (see feature image above). Massive style points for Ozog, who improved to 1-0 in his pro debut and set the bar incredibly high for his future fights. Then again, given his leaping ability, he’ll likely clear that bar.
Also on the card, Lukasz Klos only needed seconds to land a head kick on Pawel Podkanski that was so impactful, even the NFL wouldn’t have cleared Podkanski to continue play after that one.
INSANE 5 second head kick KO by Łukasz Klos at Carpathian Warriors. First strike of the fight. Wow pic.twitter.com/fFgPIK1MtP
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) October 1, 2022
Carpathian Warriors 10 is available for free replay on YouTube.
Gusein Khalikhov vs. Belek Aliev
Daniil Prikaza vs. Jonas Boeno
If kicks upside the head aren’t your thing, how about a KO front kick to the face?
Nasty front kick finish by Gusein Khalikhov earlier #OpenFC24 pic.twitter.com/2sN8DbBRxt
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) October 1, 2022
At Open Fighting Championship 24 in Barnaul, Russia (free replay available on YouTube), Gusein Khalikhov showed no wasted motion as he flicked out his foot and connected directly with the side of Belek Aliev’s jaw. That was no accident. He set it up, timed it, and delivered.
Our first non-kick KO clip of the week is no less brutal than the previous finishes as Daniil Prikaza successfully defended his welterweight title with an uppercut bomb and follow-up punches 25 seconds into the main event.
Daniil Prikaza defends his Open FC Welterweight strap with a perfectly placed uppercut against Jonas Boeno in just 26 seconds #OpenFC24 pic.twitter.com/okxaHm83VU
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) October 1, 2022
Prikaza (16-4-2) has now won three straight fights by first-round KO/TKO and is undefeated in his past six fights.
Andrey Pulyaev vs. Aleksander Kurshinsky
It wasn’t only faces that were being kicked as Andrey Pulyaev drove a shin right into Aleksander Kurshinsky’s liver that took a second to register.
Another liver kick KO this time by Andrey Pulyaev right at the start of R2. Delayed reaction #SFC5 pic.twitter.com/fxfxitRT5V
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) September 30, 2022
“Hmm. That didn’t really hurt. Let me just get these hands back up here. OK, maybe I’ll throw a — nope, my internal organ is definitely collapsing. Yup. Down I go.”
That’s got to be one of the most helpless feelings in the world, thinking that you can still fight and your body definitively telling you otherwise.
Shlemenko Fighting Championship 5 is available for free replay on YouTube.
Pavel Pahomenko vs. Pavel Masalski
Allow us to take a quick break from the smashy-smashy to bring you the best submission of the week, Pavel Pahomenko’s beauty of a buggy choke from Belarusian Fight Championship 69 in Minsk, Belarus.
BUGGY CHOKE. Pavel Pahomenko submits Pavel Masalski in the BFC 69 main event. Locked that up immediately pic.twitter.com/QxO27zhAXI
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) October 1, 2022
With a light heavyweight title on the line, Pahomenko wasn’t messing around. He touched Pavel Masalski up on the feet, then welcomed Masalski into his web. Normally side control is a great position to be in, but Pahomenko didn’t let his opponent settle in and immediately attacked with the rare submission. Like how a lot of inexperienced fighters react to the Von Flue, Masalksi probably didn’t even know he was in trouble until it was too late.
Vince Bembe vs. Ashley Calvert
There was really no escaping the brutality this week as Vince Bembe literally walked Ashley Calvert down with punches before leaving him slumped against the cage.
Vince Bembe KO1 Ashley Calvert (0:40) #EFC98 pic.twitter.com/d5zSD68kOI
— Neo Vale Tudo (@NeoValeTudo) October 6, 2022
Calvert didn’t have a lot of options to slow Bembe’s rush. You can see him half commit to a counter and half commit to defending and the sum of those decisions did not equal success.
EFC Worldwide 98 and all EFC events are available to watch with a subscription to EFCWorldwide.tv.
Miguel Martinez vs. Leo Espino
In our next clip from Jasaji Fighting League 34, Atizapan de Zaragoza, Mexico, Leo Espino probably would have been better off landing on his face (or in any other way) than the way he did.
For those of you rocking headphones, you’ve been warned:
Numero 9⃣
Miguel Martinez, JFL 34 pic.twitter.com/FBXtn3IRsE— Barrele la pierna (@Barrelelapierna) October 3, 2022
THUD.
You know this one was bad because Miguel Martinez’s body language screams concern. That’s not a staredown, that’s a “Holy s*** are you alright, my guy?” He actually starts trying to help Espino straighten his body out, which is a little rich given how Espino ended up down there in the first place. Martinez’s heart was in the right place though.
Jose Delano vs. Jair Jesuino
We wrap with maybe the nastiest affront to one’s facial features this week, as Jose Delano wasn’t content to just dent Jair Jesuino’s dome with a knee, he also followed up with hammer fists that looked like they might permanently alter the shape of Jesuino’s face.
OVER AND OUT!!!#LFA143 pic.twitter.com/XzGQPjqXWw
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) October 1, 2022
The moral of the story this week, everyone? Be nice to each other’s faces.
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.