Missed Fists: John Wick Invitational features grappling in full suits with ‘guns’ and ‘knives’

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.

In the neverending search for combat sports innovation, we talk a lot about tweaking rulesets and outside-of-the-box gimmicks, but rarely do we consider how overhauling the gear could change the game. Sure, you know about gi and no-gi grappling, but what do you know about full suit grappling?

Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you the John Wick Invitational.

(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.)

This is actually the second John Wick Invitational and I’m embarrassed to say I hadn’t heard of this competition until now. Shortened to JWI-2 (I have to wonder if they dropped printed mentions of John Wick to minimize the chance of getting sued), the event is presented by xSuit, which makes sense given the apparel company brands its wares as “The World’s Most Comfortable Suit.”

The clothing is certainly put to the test here as what you’re seeing is full-on jiu-jitsu competition in suits, creating fights reminiscent of Keanu Reeves’ intense action franchise. Seriously, this is kind of genius, and also a bit of silly fun especially once a fight gets down to the last minute.

That’s when the weapons come into play.

That’s right, if there is no submission after four minutes, a coin is flipped to determine whether a prop gun or prop knife will be thrown into the fighting pit. The final minute then becomes a scramble to either grab the gun and get a shot off or grab the knife and stab your way to victory. It’s a delightfully ridiculous gimmick that almost makes it disappointing when a fight ends in a standard armbar or rear-naked choke before the grapplers can get to overtime.

I cannot recommend taking an hour or two to skim through JWI-2 and watch at least a few matches (especially before Lionsgate Studios decides to issue a C&D). And check out this great writeup of the event from BJJDOC, which also breaks down some of the rules (loose though they may be).

Gennier Rojas vs. Gabriel Diaz

If we’re talking grappling, then I’m not going to pass up the opportunity to highlight one of my favorite submission: The calf slicer.

A sick move under any circumstances, I’m particularly partial to fighters breaking out this leglock during a seeming stalemate on the ground. At Fusion FC 89 in Lima, Peru, Gennier Rojas set up an unsuspecting Gabriel Diaz before locking the hold in and leaving that calf sliced up real good.

Truly, a joy to watch (probably not a joy to tap out to).

Fusion FC 89 is available for replay on UFC Fight Pass.

Landry Ward vs. Bryce Logan
Jordan Stronge vs. Chris Hayes

Also on Fight Pass, we have a pair of incredible knockouts from LFA 207 and Cage Warriors 187.

Landry Ward just knocked his man for a loop, stepping into a right hand just as Bryce Logan advanced and rendering him momentarily limp.

By the time Logan’s body regained solid form, he was trying to single leg the referee. Yeah, I’m going to call that a good stoppage.

Over in Glasgow, Scotland, Jordan Stronge finished Chris Hayes in style. If you’ve ever yelled “JUST LET THE GUY UP” at a screen after seeing a fighter hurt their opponent, this one is for you.

No messing about on the ground, just a smart reset to gauge how much Hayes had left. Not much as it turns out, so Stronge sealed the deal with a beautiful jumping knee.

Hurshed Nazarov vs. Keremuaili Maimaitituoheti

Hurshed Nazarov fell short in his Brave CF debut 11 months ago, so you know he was determined to make a memorable second impression. And he did, scoring his first finish since 2021.

Forget all that scoreboard noise, Nazarov went in hunting for a fast finish and he found it, needing just 17 seconds to crack Keremuaili Maimaitituoheti right on the chin and leave him in that position you’re supposed to take when an airplane is going down.

Taiki Kono vs. Toshikazu Hirayama

Over at a DEEP event in Aichi, Japan, we had arguably the best knockout of the week.

In an amateur bantamweight bout, Taiki Kono leveled Toshikazu Hirayama with a truly disgusting head kick.

And that’s all one can really say about that.

DEEP Nagoya Impact 1st Round is available for free replay 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 X — @AlexanderKLee — using the hashtag #MissedFists.