MMA/UFC

Missed Fists: Fighter makes opponent pay for fake glove touch with nasty knockout combo

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Dario Sinagoga and Ash Mashreghi at Battlefield Fight League 76 in Vancouver, British Columbia, on March 30, 2023 | @UFCFightPass, Twitter

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.

Here at Missed Fists headquarters, we’re known proponents of doing whatever it takes to win in combat sports. Not only are you actively working to not get your block knocked off or a limb broken, you’re also usually fighting to double your pay, so who can begrudge someone for an “accidental” eye poke or some liberal grabbing of the fence.

That said, if there’s one cheeky maneuver I cannot abide by, it is the fake glove touch. It’s not that it’s a particularly dangerous trick, but if you don’t want to touch gloves, just give your opponent the little nod at the start of the fight and then you can go full Masvidal to your heart’s content.

Our first clip this week shows the hazards of glove touch faking and how best to handle the situation if you’re on the opposite end of one.

(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.)

Ash Mashreghi vs. Dario Sinagoga
Ali Wasuk vs. Mitch Strazzella
Jared Revel vs. Jesse Taylor

I guess the first question here, really, is what kind of strategy is that off of a fake glove touch?

That’s Dario Sinagoga with the shiftiness and he didn’t even get his money’s worth, opting for what looked like a clinch attempt? Was he trying to surprise Ash Mashregi with double underhooks? Surely, that wasn’t an actual takedown attempt.

Regardless, Mashregi had the unique attack scouted, easily shrugging Sinagoga off before rifling in right hand after right hand for the stoppage. Justice. Served.

That’s definitely one of the better examples of glove touch chicanery going wrong, though nothing will ever top Jonathan Harris smoking Kenneth Fuller.

In other action from Battlefield Fight League 76 (available now on UFC Fight Pass) in Vancouver, British Columbia, Ali Wasuk scored a lovely triangle choke of Mitch Strazzella.

When you snag a leg while working a triangle, that’s always going to get you extra points on my card.

The main event saw Canadian veteran Jared Revel bounce back from consecutive losses in the LFA by successfully defending his BFL middleweight title with a first-round submission of Jesse Taylor.

Great win for Revel and also just an update for all of you wondering what Jesse Taylor is up to these days.

Nyamjargal Tumendemberel vs. Masayuki Watanabe
Nobuyoshi Nakatsukasa vs. Adrian Jay Gemar

Let’s rewind a few days and travel a few thousand miles to Japan, where the GLADIATOR promotion held an event in Osaka this past Saturday (free replay available on YouTube).

Nyamjargal Tumendemberel continues to tear up the Asia regional scene as he needed just seven seconds to face-plant 28-fight veteran Masayuki Watanabe.

That’s 6-0 now for the 25-year-old flyweight prospect, all by finish, and he adds another shiny belt to his collection after winning a title in Mongolia this past November.

Two fights earlier, Nobuyoshi Nakatsukasa scored the submission of the night with a vicious heel hook on Adrian Jay Gemar.

Gemear looked like he had no clue how to fight off that leg lock, so I’m going to say he made the smart call tapping out ASAP there.

Simeon Powell vs. Mohamed Amine
Dakota Ditcheva vs. Malin Hermansson
Louis Lee Scott vs. Sam Robinson

You may have missed the kickoff of the PFL’s European branch this past Saturday, which featured a couple of up-and-comers who could be major players in the league for years to come.

The main event saw light heavyweight Simeon Powell wrap up a win with an arm-triangle choke that put Mohamed Amine out at the buzzer.

Good recognition by Marc Goddard to see that Amine was completely gone and to wave the fight off then and there.

The PFL has done a great job bringing the 24-year-old Powell along, first featuring him on the Challenger Series and then having him compete in a pair of showcase bouts last year that he won by knockout. Now, he’s a favorite to win the European tournament, which comes with a $100,000 prize and potentially a spot in the 2024 PFL season.

The same could be said for 24-year-old flyweight Dakota Ditcheva, who was also 2–0 in PFL showcase fights before facing Malin Hermansson at PFL Europe 1. Ditcheva improved to 8-0 with the first submission win of her career.

For more on Ditcheva, check out her recent appearance on The MMA Hour.

Bantamweight Louis Lee Scott is not part of any PFL tournament yet as far as I know, but the 23-year-old is firmly on the league’s radar going forward after this spectacular 21-second knockout.

That was just target practice.

PFL Europe 1 is available for replay on DAZN.

Hernan Rodriguez vs. David Montano

Going a little further down the prospect ladder, we have Colombian flyweight Hernan Rodriguez enjoying a solid pro debut at Empire MMA 4 in Bogota.

That escalated! David Montano was circling away and then Rodriguez casually flicked out a head kick that splattered him.

Hunter May vs. Denis Hickey

Then there’s amateur welterweight Hunter May, likely to be a pro after improving to 3-0 competing for Maverick MMA in Pennsylvania.

The 25-year-old sent an absolute bomb right down the pipe that left Denis Hickey flattened. Not too many amateurs are going to want to sign up to face May after that, I imagine.

​​Vinicius Alves vs. Erick Castro
Julio Pereira vs. Alexandre Castro
Elora Dana vs. Andreyna Rocha

Jungle Fight has been producing absurdly nasty highlights recently and this past Sunday’s card in Manaus, Brazil, was no exception.

Here’s ​​Vinicius Alves and Erick Castro engaging in a classic “first guy to die, loses” duel.

Castro lost. Big time.

We actually had back-to-back Castro KOs on the card as Julio Pereira broke out a flying knee to set up this wicked finish of Alexandre Castro.

In the co-main event, Elora Dana captured a vacant flyweight title with this beautiful first-round armbar submission of Andreyna Rocha.

Dana is 5-0 now with three wins via tap-out. We should see her on the Contender Series soon, so Dana, give Dana a call!

Jhonata Silva vs. Stipe Brcic
Sam Kelly vs. Pav Sahota
Ander Sanchez vs. Ryan Hewitt
Junior Cortez vs. Elijah Smith
Carlton Minus vs. Dimitre Ivy

We round back to the comfy confines of UFC Fight Pass for some more of the week’s best finishes, starting with Cage Warriors 151 in London, where Jhonata Silva just squared up Stipe Brcic before ending him with a knee.

Sam Kelly jerked the curtain open for this card and then quickly closed it again as he needed just 11 seconds to punch out Pav Sahota.

And in the second fight of the night, Ander Sanchez went for the big money and the fabulous prizes and was rewarded with a heel hook submission.

Submission over position all day!

Over at Fury FC 76 in San Antonio, Junior Cortez nearly sent Elijah Smith ass over tea kettle with a brick of a right hand.

Then we had former UFC welterweight Carlton Minus (now competing at 145 pounds) scoring a delightfully awkward left hook knockout of Dimitre Ivy to put himself on his first win streak since 2018.

You know, I think something else controversial happened at this Fury FC event, but I can’t quite recall. Ah well, I’m sure it wasn’t one of the most harrowing Adventures in Officiating we’ve ever seen or anything.

That’s all for this week, don’t forget, Fight Circus 6 on Saturday night!


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.

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