Missed Fists: Hailey Cowan with a ‘Head Kick of the Year’ candidate at LFA 55, more

Welcome to the latest edition of Missed Fists where Jed Meshew and Alexander K. Lee 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.

Yes, believe it or not, somewhere in between and around the four combined UFC and Bellator shows that aired over the weekend, and one of the biggest boxing events of the year, there was plenty of regional and international action. And as so often happens, it was the smaller shows that provided the biggest highlights.

Hailey Cowan vs. Jessica Sotack
Austin Lingo vs. Aaron Webb

AL: You can always count on Legacy Fighting Alliance to produce a couple of must-see highlights and Friday’s show in Dallas did not disappoint.

One thing our feature has been too short on is female fighting action, but up-and-coming Texan Hailey Cowan is certainly doing everything in her power to change that with finishes like this one against Jessica Sotack:

That’s a walk-off head kick KO, not the most common sight in the women’s flyweight division. The strike landed so cleanly that Cowan had what looked like a full five seconds to think about throwing a punch, stop herself, and then proceed to immediately celebrate.

JM: That is a world-class KO right there and, if we’re being honest, the only non-Holly Holm female head kick KO I can recall. Am I blatantly forgetting something?

AL: There was Kaitlin Young’s classic clobbering of Miesha Tate and I also recently wrote about TUF 28 cast member Leah Letson making her mark prior to the show with a great KO of UFC vet Elizabeth Phillips last year. But they’re certainly few and far between.

Hopefully Cowan can go on to have a career like Young and Letson, and Sotack can bounce back like Tate did.

As impressive as that was, it may not have even been the best finish on the show. Featherweight Austin Lingo has to be in consideration for this knockout of Aaron Webb.

JM: That might be the most fun 13 seconds you’ll ever see in your life: basically the anti-Conor ko’ing Aldo with one left. There are a lot of hands being thrown and then boom goes the dynamite. Plus, even though it was short-lived, it was a mini-baby-micro comeback. Webb was the one initiating before getting got. Damn, LFA, you got me all in a tizzy.

Roberto Soldic vs. Vinicius Bohrer

AL: Up next, a KO that is eerily similar to Lingo’s, Roberto “Robocop” Soldic taking out Vinicius Bohrer with extreme prejudice Saturday at KSW 46 in Gliwice, Poland.

JM: I know Mamed Khalidov retired following his loss at KSW 46, but perhaps Bohrer is the one who should contemplate hanging the gloves up.

While from that angle, Soldic’s punch doesn’t look that hard, it clearly lands with authority and, I’ll be honest here, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a more harrowing KO face than the one Bohrer has as he lays convulsing on the mat. That is a dude who is staring the devil in the face and doesn’t like what he sees. Soldic sent him right past the Asphodel Meadow and straight to the Fields of Punishment.

AL: I understood some of those words.

Soldic, a 23-year-old welterweight, has now picked up his last 10 wins via knockout and he’s clearly a star in KSW.

Readers can check out a replay of KSW 46 themselves on FITE TV pay-per-view.

Diana Da Costa

AL: I wish I could say I knew more about this SKAUS Combat Kickboxing event that took place in Rio de Janeiro over the weekend, but all I can tell you is that Diana Da Costa won and she did so in the most upsetting way possible.

(by the way, make sure to follow @Jolassanda on Twitter, if you’re not already)

JM: The human liver is not built to take trauma — which is why, following UGA’s second epic collapse against Alabama in one calendar year, mine is not pleased with me right now — and if you’d care to argue, look at how completely devastated that poor woman is. Body shots, kids, they’re awesome.

AL: I don’t care how long this woman has been fighting for. Nothing could have prepared her or anyone who cares about her for a grisly scene like that.

Andrew Lofthouse vs. Mario Casasola Fernandez
Ben Bennett vs. Vahid Hoseinpoor

AL: Over at Celtic Gladiator 22 in Manchester, England, this past Friday, one of my favorite things happened: Fighter gets hit, fighter gets sassy, fighter gets KTFO.

I don’t know if anything will ever beat Spencer Finisher obliterating a smiling Matt Wiman, but featherweight Andrew Lofthouse’s performance against Mario Casasola Fernandez warmed my heart.

JM: I respect the hell out of a man who gets hit with a Tony Fryklund elbow and then still tries to talk shit. That’s how it should be for all fighters. I don’t compliment Chael Sonnen often, but I do think he has the right of it there: even when you get humiliated and embarrassed, just keep right on talking.

I hope once MCF regained his consciousness and memory 36 hours later, he woke up still talking trash. As the old saying goes, when you get knocked off the gift horse, get back up and look it right in the mouth and say, “You got nothing.”

Now for Ben Bennett vs. Vahid Hoseinpoor.

Alright, it’s time to talk about something I’ve been thinking about for awhile now. If you’re in a situation like poor Hoseinpoor was, why let yourself get highlight reeled? If you get caught and slept, that makes total sense to me. But if I’m in a televised fight, and somebody jumps a flying triangle on me, or a flying armbar I’ll be damned if I’m going out looking like a rookie. I would 100 percent stomp on that dude’s head.

AL: I really think—

JM: Will I get DQed? Probably. But guess what, that’s the same as a submission loss, only it won’t show up on my Tapology page for the rest of time as Loss - Submission (flying gogoplata). Plus, maybe the ref just sucks and you get away with it!

AL: Yes, but—

JM: I guess what I’m saying is, fighters should cheat more, especially when in dire circumstances.

AL: …

Celtic Gladiator 22 is available for free replay via Facebook in four parts here, here, here, and here.

Willem Munster vs. Rysanda Julio Dirgantara
Ade Permana vs. Lorensius Adi

AL: Since my writing partner has shown his usual disdain for the current rules of MMA, civility, and human skulls, what better way to play along then by heading over to Jakarta Utara, Indonesia for a One Pride MMA show from Saturday.

In two separate instances, Willem Munster and Ade Permana were allowed to use the perfectly legal technique of grounded-knees-to the head to secure victories against Rysanda Julio Dirgantara and Lorensius Adi, respectively. Permana actually kneed his way to an atomweight title tournament win!

JM: Here is a picture perfect example of why not allowing knees to the head of a downed opponent is the dumbest rule of them all. Look at how big of a game changer they are.

By and large, MMA favors grapplers, and disallowing one of the most effective anti-grappling techniques is a solid contributor to that. Plus, they create more action. Allowing those knees means fighters have to move and can’t just stay in a turtled position. And I’m like, 86 percent sure neither of these two gentleman died from getting kneed in the face.

AL: I can’t believe I’m agreeing with you, but that there probably is a middle ground between protecting wrestlers and creating rules that have given them a clear leg up on specialists of other disciplines in an MMA contest. I’m not saying I want to see someone driving the point of their knee onto the top of Daniel Cormier’s dome, but it might have made his fight with Alexander Gustafsson back in the day even more interesting.

JM: I am saying that. Give me heaping helpings of exactly that.

Edward Walls vs. Paata Robakidze

AL: Another thing we should be doing more of with Missed Fists prospects, so this week we’re closing things out by checking in on Edward Walls. Diligent readers might remember Walls victimizing Manolo Scianna back in April, and he was back to his wicked ways at CAGE 45 on Nov. 24 in Helsinki, Finland.

(h/t to @Ticelon for recommending this one)

JM: You know what’s awesome? When someone is so petrified of you they drop down to a butt-scoot as soon as you get near them in the most shining example of cowardice I’ve seen in a minute. Then, to watch that person get instantly KO’d the moment they are forced to actually fight.

You might argue that the outcome revealed Robakidze was being smart and self-aware, but in reality, Walls didn’t KO him. Karma did and she hits like a motherf*cker.

AL: This has been Life Advice with Jed Meshew. Remember: never butt scoot, always throw knees regardless of the situation, and if you’re ever in danger of being submitted, stomp, stomp, and stomp again.

And no matter how tough things get, never let the bad times get you down:

---

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.