Missed Fists: Brutal head kick knockouts cap off 2024 regional MMA, plus Fight Circus!

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 when it seems like there’s an MMA show every other day.

It’s a new year, but fights, well, they keep right on rolling (and technically, most of these took place in 2024 anyway). That’s right, the holiday season and the celebration of Earth circling the Sun one more time (or the Sun circling the Earth, I guess, if you’re Bryce Mitchell and company) don’t mean a thing to the inexorable march of combat sports. The world keeps turning, and fights keep happening, so we’ve gathered the best of them here as our gift to you fine readers.

And once again, the esteemed Alexander K. Lee is off for the holidays, so you’re stuck with Jed Meshew week. Hope that’s cool.

(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.)

Do Gyeom Lee vs. Do Yoon Hwang
Min Woo Kim vs. Takeaki Kinoshita

Let’s start in South Korea where, last Saturday, Seoul hosted Black Combat 13, where on the undercard, Do Gyeom Lee took on Do Yoon Hwang in a lightweight bout. For all intents and purposes, this appeared to be a setup bout for Do Gyeom Lee, given that Do Yoon Hwang was only 2-4 in his career heading into the fight, but that wasn’t the case when the open bell sounded.

Do Yoon Hwang came out guns blazing and had Do Gyeom Lee in a pretty bad spot early, but as the saying goes, hurt ain’t dead, and DGL ultimately found a home for a big right hand that instantly changed his circumstances.

It was an impressive comeback for Do Gyeom Lee and a critical win as the former UAE Warriors champion was just 1-4 in his past five fights heading into the event.

That was just the teaser though as in the main event, Min Woo Kim extended his record to 12-2 (1 NC) with a devastating head kick knockout of Takeaki Kinoshita.

Seriously, that’s a vintage Carlos Condit combination right there, with similar results. And when you factor in the excellent record, his age (only 31 years old), and the fact that Kim looks pretty good getting off the bus, I’d wager “Korean Moai” makes an appearance on Contender Series this season.

Hope Misner vs. Emily Martinez

Speaking of head kicks, Hope Misner ended 2024 on a high note this past Saturday when she took on Emily Martinez in an amateur contest at Dynasty Combat Sports 95: Seasons Beatings. And a beating it was as Misner delivered a savage head kick knockout, picking up the first win of her career in spectacular fashion.

The bout was the first of Martinez’s career, and after a loss like that, may well be her last, and frankly, who could blame her?

Dong Hwan Lim vs. In Jae La

But while some fighters are one-and-done, other fighters need a little more time. Like, overtime. Case in point, over at Road FC 71 last weekend, Dong Hwan Lim and In Jae La had a hard-fought battle for the interim middleweight championship, but after three five-minute rounds, neither fighter did enough to secure the victory. Instead, the bout headed to overtime, and apparently, Lim only need a few more seconds in the third round, because he ended things with a series of big punches almost immediately once the extra innings started.

It was a big win for Lim who not only avenged a previous loss to In, but advanced his overall career record to 6-7. One more and Lim will be at .500!

Hailaierke vs. Zhifa Shang
Alexander Zyryanov vs. Ramazan Gasanbegov
Yuhe Zhang vs. Alibek Seidazym

Now, let’s head on over to China where Jue Cheng King Bounty Competition took place in Luliang, Shanxi, and in the main event, Hailaierke, AKA “Yi Warrior,” squared off with Zhifa Shang for the flyweight tournament championship. A former Contender Series competitor and former JCK champion, Shang had a massive experience advantage, but “Yi Warrior” didn’t much care, blitzing the former champion out of the cage was a monstrous right hand in the first round.

JCK wasn’t just about knockouts though as the Chinese regional promotion also featured a couple of pretty fun submissions.

First up, on the undercard, Alexander Zyryanov tapped out Ramazan Gasanbegov with the most committed anaconda choke you’ve ever seen.

Seriously, look at the man! He literally dives with Gasanbegov’s head locked up. Man was going for it. And just 22 years old with an extensive amateur career, Zyryanov could be going for it in bigger leagues soon.

But that’s not all! Immediately after Zyryanov’s submission, Yuhe Zhang locked up his own submission, tapping Alibek Seidazym with a textbook kneebar.

Poor Seidazym looks like he might have gotten really messed up there he immediately grabbed his knee in pain and then limped his way to the official announcement.

You can check out the entire JCK Bounty Competition event on YouTube.

Fight Circus 11 — Brawla in Kuala

And, of course, how could I not talk about Fight Circus, the carniest sideshow in a sport of carny sideshows.

The world’s leading promoter of “Wow, I didn’t know you could still do that in 2024” returned to the stage with Fight Circus 11 this past week (well, it was actually filmed months ago, but unless you live in Kuala Lumpur or are Todd Duffee, you didn’t see it).

Featuring foot-in-tire boxing, a fatal four-way pillow fight, wheelchair boxing, heads or tails boxing (the rules change round to round), “Siamese boxing” (teams of two in one shirt), and a kicking-only bout, the event was headlined by promoter Jon Nutt taking on the Fight Circus legend Blobtang in kickboxing bout, Brawla in Kuala was very much what you’ve come to expect from the Fight Circus crew.

Was it the best Fight Circus? Definitely not. But the joined boxing is actually a very fun idea and watching a clearly sick Jon Nutt fist fight an enormous fat man while wearing his promoter outfight is pretty fun. Plus, there’s a surprise ending that, despite being full pro-wrestling, led to some good stuff. I won’t spoil the show with highlights, but check out the video above.

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 X — @AlexanderKLee — using the hashtag #MissedFists.