By Alexander K. Lee and Jed Meshew
MMAfighting.com
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.
This is one of those week’s where we’re focusing more on the bizarre (and often horrifying) side of MMA, starting with a grotesque injury that I would actually warn readers from watching. But if you’re a steely sort, then…
Chris Williams vs. Jonathan King
AL: A clip of Jonathan King’s injury at American Kombat Alliance’s Rite of Passage 6 event circulated over the weekend, which meant the young man went viral for the worst possible reason. The promotion uploaded its own video so viewers can check out the whole scene as it unfolded and I cannot stress enough how frightening this break is.
Proceed at own risk.
(WARNING: Clip contains explicit footage of gruesome leg break)
The way the promotion spells its name is appropriate, given that this is something straight out of Mortal Kombat.
JM: OH GOD MY EYES. WHY, WHY DID YOU DO THAT TO ME?
AL: *prayer emoji*
JM: Honestly, as far as debilitatingly horrendous leg injuries go, that one is about as easy to stomach as it can get. It just kind of looks like he has a second joint in the middle of his tibia. And his broken, useless appendage didn’t flop around like a flag. In a different world, you could imagine that King just has adjustable legs, and that’s a much better world to live in.
Real talk though, the human body is incredible. Williams’ check obliterated King’s shin and he didn’t even recognize it until he took a step back and his leg was like, “Nah homie.” That’s either unreal tough or unreal adrenaline. Either way, impressive stuff.
AL: It’s eerie how calm King looks, going as far as to hold up his leg for everyone to see and then settling back as the doctor comes in to look after him. I reached out to the promotion’s officials and they told me that he’s recovering well, which is a good sign.
Seeing this immediately brought to mind Anderson Silva’s injury against Chris Weidman and Corey Hill’s injury against Dale Hartt. How did this one stack up and are there any others I’m forgetting? No links, please.
JM: On a serious note, while injuries like this one and Anderson’s are horrific and gruesome to see, they actually aren’t all that terrible in the scheme of things. Sure, it is immediately excruciatingly painful and nauseating, but usually they are simple and relatively quick to recover from, whereas something like a concussion or torn ligaments can end your career.
As to other breaks, well, literally this past weekend Allen Hurns of the Dallas Cowboys had a similar snap but I can’t think of any MMA ones off hand, though I’m sure there are plenty. I’d slot this one comfortably in between Anderson and Hill’s breaks.
I still give top honors to Anderson because it grosses me out to think about how his leg wraps around Weidman’s shin like a whip, and Hill gets points deducted because he was eight feet tall and 155 pounds. He was basically anthropomorphized uncooked Angel Hair pasta so watching him fight was just a waiting game for such an injury to occur.
AL: Agreed on Silva, especially since the anguish was so evident on his face and even though, as you mentioned, it turned out to be an injury that he could recover from, there was the sense that he wouldn’t be the same after.
JM: Also, ya know, he was fighting for the UFC title at the time. So yeah, that has to be number one.
AL: Rite of Passage 6 is actually available to watch with a subscription to FloCombat. I’m to understand that the card contained plenty of non-leg-breaky action as well.
Joe Riggs vs. Dan Yates
AL: In other news, Joe Riggs fought last Friday at KnockOut Promotions 63 in Muskegon, Mich. This was the UFC/Bellator/Strikeforce/your uncle’s backyard veteran’s 58th pro bout and he was going up against Dan Yates who was competing in his… second pro bout.
It ended like this:
Joe Riggs finished Dan Yates with GNP R1.511:03 AM – Jan 5, 2019See LORD HONKY HUMUNGUS’s other TweetsTwitter Ads info and privacy
JM: So what you’re saying is Joe Riggs just got a win over an undefeated fighter?
AL: I’m not not saying that.
Prior to this fight even going down, Riggs was already booked to compete again on Jan. 25 at a Z Promotions show in Lethbridge, Alberta.
On a scale of 1-to-5 “Krazy Horses”, how do you rank Joe Riggs as far as being one of those fighters who has done everything and will seemingly fight forever?
JM: Joe Riggs is probably 5 Krazy Horses because he will seemingly fight for an eternity but he’s also like 0 Krazy Horses because he actually still gets wins.
AL: Math checks out.
JM: Dude is 8-1-1 in his last 10 fights! Outside of an injury loss to Artem Frolov (not to be confused with our savior Artem Lobov) “Diesel” hasn’t lost since he got run over by Chris Camozzi. Sure, he hasn’t been fighting a who’s-who list exactly but that’s a legitimately solid run on the regional circuit.
Besides, Joe Riggs doesn’t really apply to the Krazy Horse scale. He gets his own scale because do you know how old he is? 36! He may look and sometimes move like he’s in his 50s but my guy is still a relatively young man.
AL: The frosted hair he used to have always threw me off.
If fans want to keep up to date with the latest and hottest Riggs fights, they can catch a replay of KOP 63 on FITE TV pay-per-view.
Lethwei
AL: With the MMA world still somewhat dormant coming out of the holidays, we had to reach a little farther than usual for highlights this week and I’m glad we did. A Lethwei event sponsored by Mandalay Rum was held in Taungoo, Myanmar, last Friday and I’d say now is as good a time as any to get caught up on the most recent combat sport to be added to UFC Fight Pass.
This Mandalay Rum show is available to watch on the company’s Facebook page, but higher quality clips from the broadcast were captured by @inxxane, who also provided some much-needed context for what went down in Taungoo. Make sure to give them a follow.
For those unfamiliar with Lethwei, it’s a form of Burmese bare knuckle boxing that allows for strikes with every part of the limbs. And headbutts. The rules also typically allow for a fighter to take one “injury timeout” per fight, which means they can actually be knocked out and still choose to continue after a two-minute recovery period.
This sounds insanely dangerous.
JM: This sounds like my kind of fighting. You know why? Because they allow standing headbutts!
Fourth fight, Naing Win Tun launches over a fair distance towards Aung Thet Ko and lands, but the impact seems minimal.73:09 AM – Jan 5, 2019See inxxane’s other TweetsTwitter Ads info and privacy
Look at this violence! Every organization should allow them!
AL: He actually dropped his hands and threw that headbutt from distance. I don’t think I’ve seen anything like that, how could that possibly be effective?
JM: I dunno, torpedoing the top of your dome at someone else’s jaw seems like a pretty solid strategy to me.
AL: This, on the other hand, apparently was enough to cause the recipient to burn their timeout.
Sit Min catching Ngwe Nan Taw with an upward headbutt, causing the time-out.262:57 AM – Jan 5, 2019See inxxane’s other TweetsTwitter Ads info and privacy
And yet somehow, that wasn’t the most vicious thing that happened in this fight.
JM: See? That was awesome. Give me one good reason we don’t allow standing head butts.
Knees to the spine, however, I can see the argument against. I’m not the guy to make it, but I can see where someone might, especially this poor sap.
Sit Min catching Ngwe Nan Taw with an upward headbutt, causing the time-out.
They didn’t show the finish in the replay, but I think the knee to the back is what made him throw up and quit. pic.twitter.com/Iak7Cx3JIP92:57 AM – Jan 5, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacy
See inxxane’s other TweetsTwitter Ads info and privacy
The dude took a headbutt to the chin and recovered but a knee to the spine caused him to vomit and abandon all hope. Look at the way he falls. It’s like he’s a professional soccer player who got shot by a sniper. Add in the theatricality of the referee and this is already my selection for KO of the month.
AL: I was worried we wouldn’t have enough material to work with this week, but after seeing a man take a knee to the back and then yarf, I’m instead worried that Missed Fists has peaked in 2019 already.
Here’s a clip from another bout where a fighter used his timeout, but decided “hell naw, I’m not coming out for more of this”:
Tayza wins in round 2 with this knee in the clinch. Nargis takes the time-out but does not continue.272:29 AM – Jan 5, 2019See inxxane’s other TweetsTwitter Ads info and privacy
JM: That dude clearly has zero interest in fighting on and his corner does not seem to be getting the message. I suppose getting kneed in the face can do that to you.
Speaking of knees, check out this friggin’ savage rib roaster. Plus the movie-style head slam into the ring post is just *chef kissing his fingers motion*.
No replay for the second to last fight, but Nay Ruby bruises or breaks Wittaya’s rib with this knee. Wins because blue retires.24:00 AM – Jan 5, 2019See inxxane’s other TweetsTwitter Ads info and privacy
AL: Those ribs are absolutely cooked, though I like to tell myself it’s the questionable WWE tactics that really sealed the deal.
JM: Apparently the entire sport of Lethwei is just knees and headbutts and I have never been in support of anything more.
AL: There’s also some good ol’ fashioned punching too. Brutal, brutal punching.
Right, so Voronika bulldozes Wanida Yucharoen in round 1 with maximum counts. I don’t want to take away anything from Voronika skills wise, because she’s a great boxer, but this was not a worthy opponent. The belt she got is amazing but what is it’s value now??64:09 AM – Jan 5, 2019See inxxane’s other TweetsTwitter Ads info and privacy
So if you want more of this kind of action, tune into World Lethwei Championship and Lethwei Fighting Championship on UFC Fight Pass this year, hopefully with 100 percent less puke.
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