Missed Fists: Fighter lands one-shot knockout punch to cap off unbelievable 76-second brawl

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.

We’re nearing the end of 2023 and you know what that means? It’s list time! At this point on the calendar, I’m sure every fight fan is compiling their own Best of the Year highlight reel in their heads, with 2023 producing some of the most memorable and truly surprising moments in MMA history.

Before you make your year-end conclusions, might we propose one more late addition?

(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.)

Shuya Kimura vs. Shota Taguchi

There are moments in combat sports, where two dudes or dudettes just tacitly agree that once they step onto the fighting stage they set about bludgeoning each other into oblivion and ask questions later.

In the spirit of Frye-Takayama, here’s Shuya Kimura vs. Shota Taguchi from a GLADIATOR show last Friday in Osaka, Japan:

Seventy-six seconds. That’s it. That’s the fight.

A wild exchange of haymakers. A knockdown. More back-and-forth power punches. A judo throw. A face-plant knockout. That’s a perfect fight, folks.

Sure, one might favor the high-stakes action of Alexandre Pantoja vs. Brandon Moreno (my personal FOTY pick) or the sheer chaos of Chepe Mariscal vs. Trevor Peek, or maybe even a controversial thriller like the Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko rematch. But thanks to Caposa’s keen eye, we have one more unbelievable fight to cherish even if it doesn’t quite crack this year’s top 5.

Ramazan Asilderov vs. Arthur Selimov

As far as Comeback of the Year goes, Ramazan Asilderov should have his say when that list comes out.

While it’s unclear exactly what happened to Asilderov on that slip, he was clearly in an uncomfortable position as Arthur Selimov looked to capitalize. That didn’t stop Asilderov from rifling an uppercut right up the middle that forcefully removed Selimov’s mouthpiece.

Even if Asilderov actually suffered some sort of injury, he probably had so much adrenaline pumping through his veins after that knockout that he would have been up to race Usain Bolt.

A free replay of Hardcore FC is available on YouTube.

Simon Holubek vs. Zsolti Lelkes

I always say, we don’t take enough trips to Slovakia, so let’s fix that right now with a look at Simon Holubek’s head kick knockout at a Champion Fighting event in Samorin.

Not much to say here other than “kick high, tree fall down.”

Haruo Ochi vs. Yusuke Uehara
Shunta Nomura vs. Yuki Iwakura

Speaking of 2023 trends, we recently saw a back-to-back slam KOs at UFC Austin and as these things tend to go in MMA, the finish appears to be contagious.

The slam virus has spread all the way to Tokyo, where Haruo Ochi straight-up power bombed Yusuke Uehara to claim Deep’s interim strawweight title.

That was a jackknife variation, for you pro wrestling heads out there. “Big Sexy” Kevin Nash would be proud.

Also on this show, Shunta Nomura showed that the classic 1-2 combo is still effective, as he dropped Yuki Iwakura with two on-target punches.

Losene Keita vs. Niko Samsonidse

When last we saw Belgian featherweight prospect Losene Keita, he was taking his first career loss after suffering a foot injury this past July. This past Saturday, he bounced back in emphatic fashion, swatting Niko Samsonidse down at Oktagon MMA 50 to win the promotion’s vacant featherweight belt.

Keita, who turns 26 at the end of the month, remains one to watch and it wouldn’t surprise anyone if he makes his way over to North America sometime in 2024.

Aleks Rosiak vs. Bartlomiej Chorazy

The usual disclaimer here, that last highlight was from Czech Republic’s Oktagon MMA, which is not to be confused with Poland’s Octagon Fight League (or Kazakhstan’s Octagon League).

So yeah, this next clip is from the Polish Octagon promotion. And this is Aleks Rosiak.

Rosiak is styling on Bartlomiej Chorazy and even though Chorazy manages to make contact during this fight-ending sequence, that’s probably what Rosiak wanted as he tags him with an Anderson Silva paw that shuts everything off.

A free replay of Octagon League 14 is available on YouTube.

Ivan Kulak vs. Bogdan Plutakhin
Rodrigo Cossio vs. Thiago Maldonado
Bunyod G’ulomov vs. Farzodzhon Sunnatillaev

Apparently, trips to the shadow realm were 25 percent off this week if you sent your passenger there by a knee to the head. Here’s three fighters who took advantage of these great savings.

Belarusian lightweight Ivan Kulak improved to 7-0 at a Ural FC (don’t get sued!) event in Moscow with a knee that stopped a hard-charging Bogdan Plutakhin. This finish is doubly satisfying for a couple of reasons: 1) Kulak wipes his own blood on himself after and 2) anyone who hates when a fighter backs their opponent to the fence with strikes and then shoots for a takedown should love this.

The obvious takeaway from that? NSS = Never Stop Striking.

At Fusion FC 70 (replay available on UFC Fight Pass) in Lima, Peru, Rodrigo Cossio got a little air under him to splatter Thiago Maldonado with a knee right to the chin.

On the other end of the knee knockout spectrum in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Bunyod G’ulomov went high but had to aim low to catch Farzodzhon Sunnatillaev after knocking him over with a spin kick.

Great timing, great accuracy, and a great stoppage from the ref who knows a finished fighter when he sees one.

A free replay of Amir Temur Fighting Championship 20 is available on YouTube.

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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.