Missed Fists: Fighter loses in bizarre fashion, gets rematch, loses again

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.

That’s right everyone, in the middle of Star Wars casting drama and middleweights calling out Miley Cyrus, there are still fights going down, so let’s get down to the serious business of…

*checks notes*

...guy fights twice and loses twice in bizarre fashion in the same tournament.

Okay, then.

Bauyrzhan Kuanyshbayev vs. Sanjar Tajiev
Bauyrzhan Kuanyshbayev vs. Sanjar Tajiev?

AL: Did someone ask for some good, old-fashioned MMA weirdness? No, the header for this section is not a copy-paste error, we actually saw the same matchup twice at Bushido Qazaqstan FC in Kazakhstan yesterday.

Let’s go to @Grabaka_hitman (pitch in a buck or two to their Patreon!) for the play-by-play:

Just to be clear, Sanjar Tajiev tapped out to Bauyrzhan Kuanyshbayev in their quarterfinal fight, unsuccessfully complained that the fight should be restarted, earned an immediate rematch due to Kuanyshbayev’s semi-final opponent bowing out of the tournament with an injury, and then again lost to Kuanyshbayev in strange fashion.

Does all that sound about right?

JM: Seems like that’s what happened and really, all this goes to show you is that Fight Circus are on the cutting edge of MMA. They’re like the Simpsons of MMA. Immediate rematch that ends the same way? Fight Circus did it.

AL: Often imitated, never duplicated.

Neemias Santana vs. Rafael Souza

Last Saturday at X1 Kombat 3 in Minas Gerais, Brazil, we saw welterweight Neemias Santana somehow find a way to counter the hottest new technique on the MMA scene: the leg kick.

That’s right, the deadly—some would say, forbidden—move that carried Dustin Poirier to glory at UFC 257 and had Chris Gutierrez threatening to end Andre Ewell’s career this past Saturday reared its ugly head on the international scene, but thankfully, Santana was prepared.

I don’t understand, Conor McGregor had no way of defending against the leg kick, how did Santana do this???

JM: Because, as everyone knows, leg kicks don’t win fights.

Seriously though, I love MMA because fans are all like, ‘This guy would dominate if he went to boxing or kickboxing’ when literally simple things like “having a jab” is what separates the welterweight champion of the world from everyone else. Calf kicks aren’t some kind of new sorcery. They’ve been around forever, MMA fighters just can’t deal

Except Jose Aldo.

Alberto Montes vs. Richie Santiago
Manuel Medina vs. Chancey Wilson
Marcin Kalata vs. Damian Olszewski
Jesus Pinedo vs. Elicardo Silva
Maria Oliveira vs. Enila Tabosa

AL: Let’s rewind one more day, because there was some bad stuffs going down last week.

At Titan FC 67 (available on UFC Fight Pass), 26-year-old Alberto Montes improved to 5-0 with this unrelenting anaconda choke of Richie Santiago, a CES standout and one-time Contender Series contestant.

JM: Is it impressive to beat someone who didn’t get a contract off the Contender Series since you are, by definition, beating someone who isn’t a Contender? These are the kinds of metaphysical questions that keep me up at night.

Anyway, props to Montes for his dogged pursuit of the sub there.

AL: Later that same evening at LFA 99 (also available on Fight Pass), Manuel Medina also scored a great submission, though under more frantic circumstances.

This isn’t something you see too often. It looks like Chancey Wilson actually succeeded in breaking up a guillotine choke attempt with a slam, only to end up getting triangle’d anyway.

JM: Wilson just straight up did not care about his neck. Recklessly left it out there for the guillotine and got away with it but then immediately went into a triangle. Clearly the man has never listened to the Wu-Tang Clan.

AL: Are there any heavyweights better than Polish heavyweights? No, right?

JM: There are not and I cannot tell you how pumped I am for KSW 59: Pudz vs. Bombardier. T’will be glorious.

AL: We got some classic big boy action at Babilon MMA in Warsaw, and by “classic” I mean Marcin Kalata broke out the spinning sh*t, baby!

Look, you can make fun of the, uh, lack of acceleration here if you want, but Kalata clearly did a good job of conditioning Olszewski to set up this backfist. Just watch it at 1.5x speed and Kalata will look like Edson Barboza in there.

JM: That is incredible. Olszewski could have baked a cake in the time it took Kalata’s backfist to get there and it landed anyway. Never change, heavyweight MMA.

AL: And lastly from the Friday bunch, we have a couple of finishes featuring a former UFC fighter and a prospect that’s likely headed to the big show soon.

Apparently, Jesus Pinedo has been shredding over-matched competition (in fairness, his last three opponents had a combined 30-14 record so there’s at least some experience there) in Brazil and his native Peru since parting ways with the UFC. At Arena Global 10 in Rio de Janeiro, he looked like a guy ready for another crack at the octagon, needing just 75 seconds to obliterate Elicardo Silva with a head kick and a sniper left hand.

And I’m not just saying that because he’s still wearing his Reebok-branded shorts. Don’t dress for the job you have; dress for the job you had and want again.

JM: How big of a flex is that on the regional scene though? Oh, you think you’re a good fighter huh? I’ve been in The Show, little man. Take a seat.

AL: Pinedo is just 24, so there’s plenty of time for him to have another UFC run.

Now if you’re looking for a proper mismatch, look no further than Maria Oliveira (12-4) vs. Enila Tabosa (0-0). Oliveira is also 24 and has already fought for RIZIN and Contender Series.

Tabosa has not fought for RIZIN or Contender Series.

JM: Or anyone for that matter. But honestly, based on her experience I thought that would be much worse. Tabosa got lit up by that knee for sure, but she didn’t look totally incompetent. Rough way to make your debut but then, that’s the case for many legends of the sport. Just look at Forrest Griffin! He fought Dan Severn in his MMA debut when Severn was 47-6-4.

I guess what I’m saying is, Tabosa is guaranteed to be a future Hall of Famer.

Jared Anderson vs. Kingsley Ibeh

AL: As great as all the MMA clips have been, there was no topping boxer Jared Anderson putting a whupping on Kingsley Ibeh.

Just absolutely styling on the man before putting him down for the count.

JM: There’s only one “Big Baby” we recognize here at Missed Fists and that’s Glen Davis.

AL: No love for Marcus Jones? Junior Albini?

JM: No, because none of those people (with the exception of Albini who only looked baby-esque because he was in a diaper) look like babies. Anderson is 6-foot-4 and made of bricks. What the hell kind of babies are people having that have an eight-pack?

Back to Anderson’s KO though, this slo-mo angle is dope.

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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.