Missed Fists: Fighter vomits after being battered by knockout flurry

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.

Apologies for the two-week break there, but April has actually been relatively quiet on the regional and international scene outside of a few spikes of excitement here and there. This week, we have not shortage of memorable, thrilling, and absurd highlights, starting with a kickboxer losing their lunch at the end of a hard match.

Be warned!

(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.)

Praewpraw vs. Dokmaipa

At a Petchyindee show in Bangkok, kickboxers Praewpraw and Dokmaipa were locked in a heated main event until Praewpraw showed his guts and turned up the heat in Round 3. Though really, it was Dokmaipa who showed his guts as he vomited all over the mat during Praewpraw’s fight-ending flurry.

Again: Be. Warned.

As a sympathy puker, I’d rather not dwell on moments like this, but it is my Missed Fists duty to break down this kind of action, so I replayed it several times. You can actually see Dokmaipa start to barf a few seconds before the finish is called and then he spews all over the place when Praewpraw rocks him with that last knee. It’s good that this was the last fight of the night because I don’t think there’s any way they could have reasonably sanitized the mat if the event had to continue.

You can watch the full event on YouTube and the stomach-churning fight itself in crisp high-definition here:

Just lovely.

Mateusz Strzelczyk vs. Jorick Montagnac

We go from vomit to two fighters who looked a little tipsy as Mateusz Strzelczyk and Jorick Montagnac threw down at Oktagon 41 in Liberec, Czech Republic.

This is how you and your friends look when you’re trying to imitate martial arts scenes from movies. But worse. Somehow during this bar brawl of a fight, Strzelczyk managed to land a right hook on the money that flattened Montagnac. Technique, schmeqnique, am I right?

Nikolay Shakhobov vs. Maxim Danilov
Nikita Prikhodko vs. Lucas Oliveira
Maxim Fedorov vs. Davlatbek Arabov
Vladislav Pilipenko vs. Myktybek Toygonbaev

Over at Open Fighting Championship 29 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, we had several fighters setting up ground-and-pound finishes with spectacular strikes.

Nikolay Shakhobov probably didn’t need any follow-up to this slam, which turned opponent Maxim Danilov inside out.

Nikita Prikhodko’s spinning backfist wasn’t quite enough to put Lucas Oliveira away, but you wouldn’t know it by the sound of it.

It’s been three years since Oliveira’s last knockout loss, so we can cut Prikhodko some slack for not being able to just drop him with one shot. Prikhodko improves to 9-0 with his win over Oliveira, a veteran of 34 pro bouts.

Maxim Fedorov had to settle for a TKO after smashing a resilient Davlatbek Arabov with a flying knee.

Arabov changed levels right into that attack and never recovered.

You know who didn’t need any follow-up shots? Vladislav Pilipenko.

Clinch. Break. Kick. Win.

You can watch Open Fighting Championship fights free on their YouTube channel.

Shamel Findlay vs. Will Spann III
Brandon Lopez vs. Jomal Rodriguez

Remember what I said about regional MMA being back in full force? Well, UFC Fight Pass was stacked with action this past weekend, so let’s dive into some of those highlights.

At CFFC 119, flyweight prospect Shamel Findlay extended his unbeaten streak to six with a right-hand-upside-the-head KO in Round 1.

Smarter people than me have pegged Findlay as one of the most promising talents out there at 125 pounds, so my apologies to you if you’re reading this, Mr. Findlay, I wasn’t really familiar with your game.

Also on the Tampa, Fla., show Brandon Lopez scored a wicked standing guillotine of Jomal Rodriguez that had Rodriguez tapping just a little too late to save himself from going out.

Note the post-tap twitch. *shudder*

Dumitru Girlean vs. Adam Cullen
Chris Hardwick vs. Yann Liasse

Italy’s Dumitru Girlean made an impressive Cage Warriors debut in Manchester, England, dropping the previously unbeaten Adam Cullen in the third.

That right hand just crumbled Cullen. Girlean is now 6-1 with all of his wins coming by way of knockout or submission.

In the main event, lightweight champion Chris Hardwick logged his second title defense with a first-round finish of Yann Liasse.

The finish was fine enough, but it’s the celebratory dancing that we’ll remember.

Those hips don’t tell a single lie.

Trey Waters vs. Jalin Fuller
Nikita Kulshin vs. Geovani Cruz

LFA 156 in Sioux Falls, S.D., was also topped off by a title fight, with Trey Waters and Jalin Fuller competing for a vacant welterweight belt. Waters’ recent Contender Series tryout didn’t go as planned as he ran into Gabril Bonfim of the dreaded Bonfim clan, but you can always go home again.

Case in point:

As we know from Carlos Condit vs. Dan Hardy, not all punches are created equal, and Fuller was reminded of this as his left hand glanced harmlessly off the side of Waters’ head while Waters simultaneously landed a right hand bomb. Waters knew that one was done.

This past Friday’s LFA card also saw the U.S. debut of Nikita Kulshin, a 23-year-old Russian who could be fighting for a title sooner rather than later. Kulshin needed just 17 seconds to land a perfect counter punch that erased Geovani Cruz.

Reynaldo Acevedo vs. Andre Bermudez
Natasha Kuziutina vs. Karen Quintero

If you’re wondering why Waters didn’t win our Humpty Dumpty Fall of the Week, it’s because Reynaldo Acevedo did this to Andre Bermudez at Titan FC 81.

The wheel kick was beautiful and if Bermudez wasn’t made of such stern stuff, it probably could have ended there instead of with him rendered a ragdoll against the fence.

I don’t know if you’ve heard, but judo is a pretty good base for women looking to get into MMA. Natasha Kuziutina is a decorated judoka who won bronze at the Rio games in 2016 and I’ll give you one guess as to what technique she used to win her Titan FC debut.

You guessed right.

Until next week, remember kids, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try (and try!) again:

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.