Missed Fists: Referee slaps the taste out of fighter’s mouth to halt 2-versus-1 bout

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.

Around these parts, we do our best to be as informed as possible about the clips we feature, but sometimes you’ve just got to allow for a little guesswork so as not to exclude the most buzz-worthy and bizarre moments in combat sports.

So prepare yourselves, people, because we’re about to jump down a hole.

(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.)

Cedy and Dustinel vs. Alexandru Bobicioiu (and Yamoto Zaharia?)

Romania’s RXF MMA should be familiar to many of you as the promotion has carved out a name for itself in recent years after several of its slap fighting clips went viral, well before the art of “what did the five fingers say to the face” was a twinkle in Uncle Dana’s eye.

This may shock you, but RXF also promotes influencer and freak show fights, both of which were on display in its most recent main event. What exactly unfolded in this 2 vs. 1 fight, which saw the TikTok team of Cedy and Dustinel (combined 1.5M followers) take on Alexandru Bobicioiu (150,000 followers on Instagram), well, I’m still working on figuring that out.

Near as I can tell, these asymmetrical fights still have some semblance of a rule set and Dustinel (the unfortunate slappee) was maybe too aggressive or wasn’t permitted to use certain techniques as the fight went to the ground. That, or referee Yamoto Zaharia (also an influencer of sorts with over 200,000 TikTok followers) just does not like the guy.

After all, this isn’t the first time he’s had to get physical with Dustinel:

There’s also a strong chance that this is all some kind of elaborate show, which wouldn’t be surprising in the slightest, though that slap certainly sounded as real as it gets.

It’s a shame Zaharia had to get involved, because Cedy and Dustinel did an excellent job using the tried-and-true 2-on-1 tactic of one guy grabs and the other guy strikes (pioneered by Fight Circus legends Bank and No Money, of course). A cursory glance at the participants’ respective social media pages seems to show that the hatchet has been buried, but if anyone that speaks Romanian wants to roll around in the TikTok mud and dig into the aftermath, I don’t blame you for being curious.

Anyway, I get the feeling this is all a setup for a tag team MMA match in the near future, which RXF will happily promote to their two million TikTok followers. What a business.

Eun Bi Cho vs. Momoko Yamazaki
Seika Izawa vs. Si Yoon Park

With respect to the above influencers, the real highlight of the week came courtesy of the previously winless Eun Bi Cho, who scored one of the nastiest women’s MMA knockouts ever at a DEEP JEWELS event in Tokyo.

Fifty-seven seconds into their fight, Cho and Momoko Yamazaki decided to let their hands fly, resulting in Cho landing a clean 1-2 that shut Yamazaki down before she hit the ground. Poor Yamazaki’s leg did a full Cro Cop’ing,

Cho was 0-4 heading into this fight, but we should all be glad that she kept pushing that rock up the hill because it gave us a KO that she can brag about for a lifetime.

In a more substantial contest, the undefeated Seika Izawa stayed that way with a beautiful ninja choke submission in the main event to add a JEWELS atomweight belt to her collection.

Izawa, who also holds a Rizin title at 105 pounds, is now 13-0 with finishes in her past four fights. It’s been two years since she picked up a second consecutive win over atomweight legend Ayaka Hamasaki and while the level of competition has dwindled since then (shout-out to rival Si Woo Park), it’s hard to deny that the 26-year-old belongs among any list of the best women’s fighters in the world. She’s currently No. 13 in MMA Fighting’s Pound-for-Pound rankings and only moves closer to the top 10 every time she steps into the ring.

Janii Rosario vs. Alaina Dutill

One person who shouldn’t be happy about Cho’s spectacular KO is Maverick MMA fighter Janii Rosario. The amateur strawweight won a vacant belt this past Saturday in Brodheadsville, Pa. with a 46-second face-plant punch-out of Alaina Dutill and would have made for a worthy Missed Fists lead were it not for Cho’s slightly superior effort.

Great patience from Rosario to wait for Dutill to overextend before countering and sending Dutill to the mat. At 7-1, the 28-year-old Rosario could make the jump to pro fighting soon, if she’s so inclined.

You can watch Maverick MMA 27 and more regional events with a subscription to Spectation Sports.

Arijan Topallaj vs. Karol Rysavy

If you want an example of pure ferocity inside the cage, look no further than Arijan Topallaj:

That is the definition of putting the gas tank on E in pursuit of a finish. Fortunately for Topallaj, he got it, rocking an off-balance Karol Rysavy with a left hook and then landing a flurry of haymakers for the stoppage.

“The Albanian Eagle” won his second Oktagon MMA fight and is now 7-0-1, with all of his wins coming by way of first-round stoppage. A student of former UFC fighter Peter Sobotta, expect to see plenty more Topallaj highlights in the future.

Richard Martins vs. Augusto Matias
Luiz Felipe Herculano vs. Werick Douglas

I don’t know what was in the MMA waters this past weekend, but fighters were out for blood. Literally.

At LFA 179 in Rio de Janeiro, welterweight Richard Martins gave Augusto Matias no choice but to stay down, first slicing him with a knee up the middle and then landing a ground punch that took Matias out for good.

Once that cut opened up, Matias looked like he’d had enough and the rest was just punishment. Live to fight another day, young man.

Luiz Felipe Herculano was also in a hurry to get in and get out, which he did in just 17 seconds, bullying Werick Douglas to secure a quick knockout and improve to 7-0 as a pro.

LFA 179 is available for replay on UFC Fight Pass.

Isac Silva vs. Ariclenes Carvalho

At a Rei Da Selva combat event in Manaus, Brazil, Isac Silva was spinning and winning, though it was less the spinning and more the face-punching that got him the win here.

Poor Ariclenes Carvalho. This was like in Punch-Out!! when you’re trying to time your opponent’s signature move, but then you mess up and end up getting clocked. I don’t remember Little Mac ever taking any unnecessary ground-and-pound after getting rocked though.

Here’s another angle of this wicked KO:

Rei Da Selva Combat 16 is available for free replay on YouTube.

David Serrano vs. Jordan Baraldi
Houssam El Kasri vs. Dan Wilson

Speaking of knockout setups, David Serrano had Jordan Baraldi guessing with a series of well-placed kicks at a Sparta Combat League event in Superior, Colo.

Eventually, Baraldi guessed wrong one too many times.

Baraldi saw the illusion of a body kick, but felt the harsh reality of a head kick.

Still, it could be worse. He could be Dan Wilson.

Shades of Spencer Fisher-Matt Wiman here as Wilson seemed to be indicating that he was OK by sticking his tongue out after eating a good shot from Houssam El Kasri. Moments later, out like a light.

That’s all for this week, until next time everyone, remember there’s no such thing as free plastic surgery.

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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 X — @AlexanderKLee — using the hashtag #MissedFists.