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Missed Fists: Highlight-reel suplex ends in disaster, ex-UFC fighters thrive in Serbia, more

March 20, 2020
Tiago Souza (blue gloves) ends up on the wrong end of a suplex at a Taura MMA show in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, on March 15, 2020 | @Grabaka_Hitman, 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.

Believe it or not, COVID-19 did not stop several promotions (including the UFC, at least for one weekend) from conducting their business, though there are a few fighters who probably would have been a lot better off if their bouts were canceled.

(A reminder: This feature isn’t possible without folks like @Grabaka_Hitman and @Jolassanda1 continuing to scour the ends of the earth for fight footage, so do give them a follow and some much-deserved love.)

Erick Viscondi vs. Tiago Souza
Felipe Gheno vs. Giliarde da Silva

AL: Suplexes are great, nobody is arguing this. They take strength, technique, and excellent timing, and it’s that last element that seemed to be just a bit off here for Tiago Souza. There are so many variables in an actual fight and so much can go wrong even when it seems like you’re in control as Souza found out in his fight with Erick Viscondi at Taura MMA 9 in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, this past Sunday.

It’s hard to tell exactly how Souza injured himself, but it’s probably never good when you deliver a full-force slam with your opponent landing on top of you. My first guess was that something happened to Souza’s shoulder. It’s also possible that he may have injured a rib. So either way, fun times.

JM: Suplexes (or “Suplei” if you’re Jeff Blatnick) are great. This was not a suplex. It was a failed suplex. This was like when I say I can totally bench 200 and then when I get under the bar have to immediately call for help. Gotta know your limits Tiago or else you’ll lose a fight in embarrassing fashion.

AL: Much cleaner is this Superman punch finish by Felipe Gheno.

JM: Man, poor GDS. He turned his head just slightly wrong and let that shot crack him in the temple. If he’d have kept his head straight Gheno may well have broken his hand smacking off the top of da Silva’s dome. Instead, Gheno has a highlight win and da Silva is left wanting. It’s a game of inches.

AL: That sniper shot improved Gheno’s record to 9-1 and, according to Tapology, earned him something called the Circuito Team Nogueira Flyweight Championship, which sounds pretty great. Speaking of Tapology, I don’t know what’s going on in Gheno’s profile picture, but again, pretty great.

Nemanja Uveric vs. Stanislav Krofak
Junior Albini vs. Adnan Alic
Goran Reljic vs. Pedro Brum
Bojan Velickovic vs. Danillo Santos

AL: UFC Brasilia wasn’t the only game in town on Saturday. Serbian Battle Championship (subtitled Revenge) went down in Vrbas and you can watch that whole event for free on Facebook.

There were several former UFC fighters on the card, but relative unknown Nemanja Uveric may have outshined them all with this gorgeous counter-punch KO.

I’m giving Uveric credit and style points for the walkoff here as I think he was going to pull back before the referee even got in there.

JM: I’ve never really thought about it until right now but starching-KOs are super weird. Like, Krofak is clearly out of it but why does his body arch his head up? Is that just muscle contraction? Is it his soul’s way of showing unhappiness with Krofak’s life choices? I need a doctor to answer this for me.

AL: And all this time I thought you were a doctor!

As for the ex-UFCers, it was a good day for them as Junior Albini scored an extremely nonchalant KO of Adnan Alic, who fell to 13-23 in his career.

JM: Big Baby Albini getting back on the board! (Alliteration +100). Also, I’m sure I’m just forgetting but I can’t recall seeing dudes being allowed to wear shirts until recently. SBC very progressive with their rules.

AL: Remember Goran Reljic? He looked like a serious prospect after taking out Wilson Gouveia over a decade ago, but his UFC career never took off. Still, he’s done well enough since, even capturing a KSW light heavyweight title in 2015. Here he is taking out Pedro Brum with the precision.

JM: Considering the speed of those punches, can’t say I’m shocked Goran didn’t make much of a UFC run, even in the anemic light heavyweight division.

AL: And Bojan Velickovic snapped a four-fight winless streak in the SBC 27 main event, handing young Danillo Santos his first loss with a guillotine choke in the second round.

Even though Velickovic hasn’t thrived against the highest caliber of competition, he still showed Santos that there are levels to this.

JM: Velickovic will always be an enigma to me. He’s not a bad fighter, but for whatever reason he seems deadset on proving that he is by continually not winning fights. I’m glad he’s decided to stop doing that because, I think we can all agree, winning fights is better than not winning them.

AL: Solid assessment. Maybe you are a doctor after all.

JM: Hopefully now the Serbian Niko Price will start putting things together.

Sang Won Kim vs. Kuya Ito
Joseph Camacho vs. Masato Nakamura

AL: First of all, let me just say I love dining room MMA shows. There’s nothing like a meal and a melee, am I right?

At a Brawl show in Tamuning, Guam, last Friday, Sang Won Kim absolutely detonated Kuya Ito with a short left hand.

JM: See, I find them strange. I know, it’s weird that I’d say that but I’m not a big eater while watching violence. If I get too excited and start yelling when someone gets stoned in front of me, that’s just gonna ruin the meal. Let’s keep it simple and just go full liquid diet for fights.

AL: I’d love to leave it there, but unfortunately there was another clip from the show that made the rounds on social media, this one for the same reasons as poor Tiago Souza.

Warning: This slam finish features a nasty, nasty arm break.

Barf.

JM: MY POINT EXACTLY. Anyone who was eating before that, is not eating now. Whereas if all you’re doing is drinking, you both probably care much less about what happened, and you can just have another drink to forget about it.

AL: Congrats to Joseph “Seay Seay” Camacho for improving to 3-0, though I’m sure both he and his opponent would have preferred this one to go differently.

Dexter Suisse vs. Miroslav Vujovic

AL: We weren’t going to leave you without some kickboxing goodness this week, especially with the Taftnet Cup going down in Kazan, Russia last Sunday.

Bask in the glory of Dexter Suisse’s relentless knee assault.

JM: Listening to events in empty arenas is so weird. And getting obliterated in an empty arena has to be even weirder. On the one hand, Vujovic can take solace knowing that not that many people saw his loss (until now!) but on the other hand, it’s gotta feel so pointless to get got in front of zero people.

Tshilomba Mikixi vs. August Kayambala

AL: Now let’s leave off with a thrilling finishing sequence from EFC Worldwide 84.

That’s lightweights Tshilomba Mikixi and August Kayambala going at it. Both men showed great heart, neither willing to give an inch, but anytime you have a firefight like that, someone is going to get scorched and in this case it was Kayambala after eating all of Mikixi’s uppercut.

If you squint, you can see a hint of Ngannou-Overeem, though perhaps that’s just my MMA-starved brain talking.

JM: First, let me just say that Tshilomba Mikixi is an incredible name. I hope this kid makes it to the top because with a name like that, he deserves it.

Second, I love that Mikixi made absolutely no bones about what he was trying to do in that finishing sequence. He just kept spamming uppercuts into the ducking Kayambala until one of them connected, Mortal Kombat-style.

AL: Toasty!

JM: Not a bad way to end what could potentially be a long layoff for us.

AL: Let’s hope everything gets back to normal sooner rather than later. Be safe, everyone.

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.

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