Missed Fists: Vincent Van Gogh scores masterpiece knee knockout

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.

We like to consider ourselves to be of refined taste around these parts, so you can imagine our excitement when a fighter comes along with a name or nickname that invokes a cultural classic. My attempts to force a headline out of a Victor Hugo Madrigal submission attempt fell flat some years back, but like The Count of Monte Cristo (different French work of literature, I know!), I’ve been biding my time waiting for another opportunity and at last, the moment has come.

Ladies and gentleman, without further ado, meet MMA featherweight Vincent Van Gogh.

(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.)

Vincent Van Gogh vs. Yeison Bayona
Elias Santos vs. Giovanny Giraldo
Michael Polanco vs. Erick Encarnacion

How best to describe this masterpiece by the Dominican Republic’s Van Gogh, who showed out at a Fighting Force event last Friday?

It was very much a Starry Night for his opponent Yeison Bayona, who was likely seeing celestial bodies after taking the full force of Van Gogh’s knee. All five of Van Gogh’s pro wins have come by way of knockout, so that strike is a pretty accurate Self-Portrait of how he likes to fight. He was truly The Sower of Bayona’s destruction, leaving the poor guy lying At Eternity’s Gate. Let’s just hope that someone sends Bayona some Sunflowers while he rests and recovers.

I’m done.

Portrait of Dr. Gachet.

OK, now I’m done.

Van Gogh wasn’t the only fighter having a brush (ha!) with greatness in Santo Domingo. Elias Santos and Michael Polanco both unleashed ground-and-pound from the depths of Hades to reduce their opponents to dust.

I’m just saying, we’re worried about knees and soccer kicks and 12-6 elbows but we’re still allowing folks to do this to each other? Legalize everything.

Fighting Force 13 is available for free replay on YouTube.

Jayden Martin vs. Luis Guzman
Adam Posener vs. Bryan Castro
Roman Tasone vs. Michael Tse

Let’s fast forward to last night at Battlefield Fight League 79 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and I do mean fast forward as several of these bouts were over in the blink of an eye.

Thanks to caposa, you can watch every second of this scrap between Jayden Martin and Luiz Guzman that ended with Martin flattening Guzman with a right hand.

Defense, schmefense, just let those hands go!

Adam Posener took just 10 more seconds to win this battle of pro debutants as he locked in an arm-triangle choke, the threat of which Bryan Castro probably didn’t recognize until it was too late.

Amateurs were also in action on this card, but there was nothing amateurish about the sledgehammer that Roman Tasone dropped on Michael Tse’s jaw.

Battlefield Fight League 79 is available for replay on UFC Fight Pass.

Alex Morgan vs. Oleksandr Horshechnik

Staying in The Great White North, we had action in Quebec at Samourai MMA 9 (also available on Fight Pass), where Alex Morgan landed The Cro Cop Head Kick of the Week on poor Oleksandr Horshechnik.

That’s right everyone, despite what we witnessed at UFC 297, Canadian men are still capable of winning cagefights.

Dmitriy Vezhenko vs. Said Hamsehzade

From Shlemenko FC 9 in Omsk, Russia:

I really have no clue how to describe this knockout other than calling it a “drive-by clubbing.”

Dmitriy Vezhenko somehow gets away not once, but twice, with throwing this insane windmill right hand that Said Hamsehzade decides to just take. Hamsehzade is undoubtedly a tougher man than I’ll ever be, but next time, maybe just, I don’t know, move out of the way or get your hands up? As it played out, Vezhenko’s disdainful right hand caught Hamsehzade right as he was attempting a kick, leading to our clear Humpty Dumpty Fall of the Week.

Shlemenko FC 9 is available for free replay on YouTube.

Lester Batres Jr. vs. Tater McSpadden

Posener’s arm-triangle finish was our top submission of the week, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention Lester Batres Jr.’s slick as heck facedown armbar.

That is a truly scary situation to be caught in and I don’t blame Tater McSpadden for flopping around like a fish as he tried to find a way out. Thankfully, a tap was enough to save him from any serious damage.

Fury Challenger Series 11 is available for free replay on YouTube.

Matheus Bueno vs. Willyam Pereira

We started with a knee knockout and it’s only fitting that we close with another, this one of the jumping variety at a Soldado Combat event in Brasilia, Brazil.

That doesn’t just look like a jumping knee, but a jumping double knee à la Jose Aldo. Matheus Bueno might not reach Aldo’s career heights (especially when you consider that his opponent Willyam Pereira came into this fight with a record of 2-14) but for one shining moment, he soared like the featherweight great.

Timothy Cuamba vs. Michael Stack

We’re not quite wrapped yet as you should take a peek at this mighty head kick by Timothy Cuamba.

That finished happened at Tuff-N-Uff 135 (available on UFC Fight Pass) in Las Vegas, so if you caught it and found yourself thinking, “Hey, I’d really like to see more of this Cuamba guy,” you won’t have to wait long as the 8-1 featherweight has been called upon on less than a week’s notice to fight Bolaji Oki in a lightweight bout tomorrow night at UFC Vegas 86.

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 — @AlexanderKLee — using the hashtag #MissedFists.