Missed Fists: Lethwei fighter lands crazy 360 haymaker, more

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.

Every now and then we like to peek at the world of lethwei in the hopes that we can get a greater understanding of this beautiful form of combat that is still a mystery on our side of the world.

That said, this first clip only makes lethwei seem scarier and more confusing.

Bo Bo Win vs. Daung Phyo Wai
Ngwe Nan Taw vs. Mon Thway

That right there is easily one of the greatest punches that anyone has ever connected with.

It should be said that this shot was landed in the middle of an absolutely wild fight in which Bo Bo Win rarely went five seconds without spinning in either direction and he’d actually hurt Daung Phyo Wai several times before this sequence. So Wai was already rattled by the time Win went full hurricane on him and this was the icing on the cake.

And by icing on the cake, I mean this fight continued on with Win landing even more spinning s*it until Wai finally made the smart business decision and stayed down. To his credit, he gave as good as he got in this one, there’s simply nothing you can do when you’re dealing with a guy like Win, who based on this extraordinarily sloppy lethwei brawl could very well be the future of combat sports.

This ridiculously thrilling fight was part of a two-night Lethwei Challenge Fights event, which you can watch for yourself on Facebook (Wai-Win starts around the 41:00 mark of Night 1).

Lethwei Challenge Fights - Night 1

Lethwei Challenge Fights - Night 2

There was also this unfortunate self-KO by Mon Thway, giving Ngwe Nan Taw the easiest win of his life.

I can only say this because Jed isn’t around this week: Headbutts don’t always work!

Alex Lohore vs. Anderson Goncalves
Abrobek Madaminbekov vs. Shady Taimur

If you’re looking for a fight with a little more substance, then check out the middleweight co-main event of Probellum: Dubai (available for replay on YouTube), featuring Cage Warriors veteran Alex Lohore and former PFL fighter Anderson Goncalves.

This is just an awesome fight. Goncalves has a considerable reach advantage and he uses it well, but Lohore does not let him get comfortable and is in his face for almost the entire fight. Not backing down, Goncalves stands in the pocket and trades with him, which turns out to be a bad idea because Lohore wears him down considerably heading into the third.

At that point, Lohore is done playing around and he goes for a body lock before wrestling Goncalves down and choking him out.

Earlier on the show, flyweight Abrobek Madaminbekov made a successful pro debut with this beaut of a 1-2 combo against Shady Taimur.

The Real Slim Shady will not be standing up after this combination (thanks to the Oscars, this reference is topical again. Leave me alone).

Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Ruslan Tuyakov
Alexander Stetsurenko vs. Anvarbek Daniyalbekov

Stopping off in Saratov, Russia, we have the latest dominating performance from blue chip lightweight prospect Usman Nurmagomedov as he puts away the previously unbeaten Ruslan Tuyakov.

At this point, Nurmagomedov is just biding his time and waiting for a major promotion to call. Don’t be surprised if he joins his cousin in the UFC soon.

While Tuyakov may have taken his first L, he’s definitely in better shape than poor Anvarbek Daniyalbekov, whose innards were absolutely annihilated by Alexander Stetsurenko in this kickboxing bout:

Look at how casual that is. All accuracy and timing from Stetsurenko.

Lance Wright vs. Gabriel Mota

Our submission of the week goes to Lance Wright, who appears to finish Gabriel Mota by driving the point of his knee into dude’s neck.

Big yikes.

This is the sort of thing that seems illegal at first glance, but if it isn’t, then it makes you wonder why more fighters don’t attempt this sort of thing. You can chalk it up to the level of competition, but this seems like the kind of submission that Ovince Saint Preux or Aleksei Oleinik would conjure out of nowhere, leaving us all scratching our heads.

You can catch a replay of Hoosier Fight Club 42 on FITE TV PPV (Ignore the page’s auto-tagging, Matt “The Immortal” Brown and Alberto El Patron are NOT on this card).

Cristian Ristea vs Thomas Froschauer

In contrast to our opening clip, this knockout by Cristian Ristea from OSS Fighters 05 in Bucharest, Romania, is as clean as it gets.

Keep in mind, this is happening in the middle of a flurry by Ristea, so he’s got to be thinking all-offense and no defense. And yet, as soon as Thomas Froschauer dares to fire back, there’s Ristea with a counter-right in the middle of the storm that lands square and crumples Froschauer.

Erin Blanchfield vs. Victoria Leonardo
Iuri Lapicus vs. Marat Gafurov

Highlighting a couple of performances from the majors that may have been overlooked, we tip our caps to Erin Blanchfield and Iuri Lapicus.

The 20-year-old Blanchfield is one of Invicta’s brightest prospects. A strong grappler, “Cold Blooded” picked up her first knockout win last Friday and it was a doozy.

Victoria Leonardo is a prospect in her own right and considerably more battle tested when you add in her amateur MMA career, plus she’s walked through some heavy shots in the past (check out her brawl with Stephanie Geltmacher at Invicta FC 36 last August), so Blanchfield taking her out like this is damn impressive. Make that five wins in six pro bouts for Blanchfield.

Invicta FC 39 is available for replay on UFC Fight Pass.

As great as that was, the best young gunner performance of the week has to go to Moldova’s Iuri Lapicus.

I confess to not knowing a lot about Lapicus before last weekend, other than that he was undefeated and an underdog heading into his matchup with former 155-pound champion Marat Gafurov. This fight from ONE Championship: Warrior’s code was Gafurov’s 170-pound debut.

Consider it spoiled.

Lapicus, 24 years old and now 14-0, already made some waves in his ONE debut last May when he submitted Shannon Wiratchai. This upset of Gafurov immediately thrusts him into the title picture.

With all the serious business done with, there’s really no easy way to transition to this last bit, which is from Time of Masters 5 in Rumia, Poland.

Just watch the clips yourself.

Pretty cool, right? He’s jamming in the cage, going behind the back with the violin, putting it between his legs and making some completely inappropriate eye contact...

I beg your pardon.

This guy has to team up with Israel Adesanya at some point to create the walkout of a lifetime.

MMA NEEDS THIS.

Somehow, on a show that also included knight fights and a Damian Janikowski that is somehow not that Damian Janikowski, this was heads and shoulders above the rest as far as absurdity goes.

Watch the whole shebang for yourself, free on YouTube.

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.