Wender Batista vs. Ricardo Nogueira
MMA debuts always fascinate me because it’s a hurricane of emotions washing over you before you make the walk for the first time. Even the most confident people will have some doubts, as for the first time, the rubber is truly about to meet the road. What if you actually suck, and embarrass yourself and your family and no one will ever love you again because you did so poorly?
Or, what if you’re Wender Batista?
Batista made his MMA debut against Ricardo Nogueira at Sinop Fighting Combat 2 in Sinop, Brazil, and you can hardly dream of a better outcome. Despite being massively disadvantaged when it comes to experience, Batista showed poise in his first fight, before landing a beautiful head kick that dropped Nogueira. He then finished the job with a series of savage punches that left Nogueira folded up on top of himself like Mirko Cro Cop after the first Gabriel Gonzaga fight.
Not bad for your first time.
Ngoc Tin Huynh vs. Tuyet Dung Phan Ngoc
Not all debuts go as well, though. Case in point, when Ngoc Tin Huynh made his debut in June at Lion Championship 14, he lost a unanimous decision. But the young Vietnamese fighter didn’t let that keep him down, and at Lion Championship 16 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, his sophomore effort went substantially better.
Ngoc Tin Huynh opened the contest with a sneak high kick that almost finished the job immediately, but Tuyet Dung Phan Ngoc covered up and retreated, allowing Ngoc Tin Huynh to knock him out in just 13 seconds.
Langston Sykes vs. Anson Swindle
But while Ngoc Tin Huynh was undeniably excited to redeem himself from his unfortunate debut with a great KO, there might not be a man alive who was happier this week than Langston Sykes.
Sykes fought Anson Swindle in the co-main event of Island Fights 84, and heading into the contest, Sykes was 0-4 in his professional MMA career. That kind of repeated losing can wear on a person, and Sykes was able to exorcise those demons with one of the most aesthetically pleasing knockouts you’ll see this month.
Ilzat Assiyev vs. Abylaikhan Zholdasbayev
But Missed Fists doesn’t just celebrate the knockouts in regional MMA. We’re also all about the wonkiest and rarest submissions. Regional MMA is great for subs because the disparity in fighters can be vast, so you get all sorts of things that are extremely rare in UFC or PFL.
To that end, one of my favorite submissions is the Suloev stretch as it’s very cool and also brutal, as Abylaikhan Zholdasbayev found out.
Qiulun vs. Bayanduuren Gantumur
On the topic of fun submissions, former Contender Series and Road to UFC fighter Qiulun got back in the win column with a nasty ninja choke against Bayanduuren Gantumur at JCK Fight Night 90 in Luliang, China.
Gantumur opened the second round with a naked shot at Qiulun’s legs and paid the price for his mistake, as “Tibetan Knight” quickly locked in the fight-ending choke. Gantumur fought valiantly to survive and break the grip, but ultimately couldn’t find a way out and was forced to tap before going to sleep.