Missed Fists: Rhino Casipe suffers pre-fight injury—and then loses due to in-fight injury

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.

This may surprise readers, but I’m not a doctor.

Sure, like any good armchair analyst or hardcore fan or Joe Rogan, I can see an injury in real time and give my best guess as to what happened. I can certainly speculate as to whether an injured fighter should continue or when we can likely expect to see that fighter compete again. But medical diagnosis hardly my area of expertise.

That said, I’m comfortable saying that whatever happened at Lion Championship 19 last week definitely should not have happened.

(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.)

Ngoc Luong Tran vs. Rhino Casipe

Everything was going fine for Rhino Casipe.

His entrance. Check. Pre-fight checkup. Check. Walk into the cage. Check.

He even made it as far as the referee instructions before everything went wrong. In the clip below, you can see Casipe doing some routine stretching that somehow results in him injuring his hamstring.

The full video from Lion Championship 19 (available on YouTube) shows Casipe being helped and examined for an uncomfortable period of time as the crowd is unsure what exactly is happening. It would seem that the smart thing to do would be to err on the side of caution and just declare a no-contest, but no, it’s decided that Casipe is made of sterner stuff and that he can compete despite a delay of over five minutes.

What’s the worst that could happen?

The worst happened.

As you’d expect, Casipe looked extremely tentative and hesitant to commit to any offense, his most significant action being a takedown attempt off of a caught kick. That move required a bit of legwork and, sure enough, Casipe’s hamstring gave right up and he collapsed to the mat.

He would eventually be stretchered from the cage.

What are we doing? I mean, as a society? We can do so much better.

At this point, I should mention we are entering some gnarly territory with a brutal arm break just around the corner and some of the most blood-curdling knockouts that I’ve seen in some time. It was a truly, truly difficult weekend to be a losing fighter and I’m not just talking about Mike Tyson and Stipe Miocic.

So, from here on, viewer discretion is STRONGLY advised.

Eduardo Santos vs. Denilson Abadie

At a Jungle Fight show in Recife, Brazil, Eduardo Santos had Denilson Abadie dead to rights with a kimura and, well, he did what he had to do.

And that’s all I want to say about that.

All the prayers up for Abadie on a full recovery.

Ayaka Hamasaki vs. Yu Ri Shim

Before we get to the aforementioned knockouts, how about we pause the grotesque to appreciate the gorgeous as Japanese MMA legend Ayaka Hamasaki showed off some of the most beautiful technique you’ll see this year with this submission sequence at a RIZIN show in Nagoya.

Veteran fighter Tom Lawlor expertly breaks Hamasaki’s attack down in the above post, showing how Hamasaki transitions from clinch to ground work to a clinical finish. At 42, the atomweight pioneer is still putting on classy performances for the fans.

Jake Carver vs. Jesus Garcia

OK, fine, you’ve waited long enough for the knockouts.

Here’s amateur welterweights Jake Carver and Jesus Garcia slugging it out, much to Garcia’s detriment.

This was Garcia’s debut, so his enthusiasm is both understandable and appreciated, but Carver (now 4-0 as an amateur) kept his cool throughout the exchange and found a home for that right hand over and over again. One too many power shots for Garcia, who learned the hard way that a little defense will go a long way.

Urijfah Faber A1 Combat 25 is available for replay on UFC Fight Pass.

Yassine Belhadj vs. Baba Boundjou Nadjombe

Yassine Belhadj is nicknamed “Crazy Legs,” but it’s his opponent Baba Boundjou Nadjombe whose limbs decided to go full One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest after Belhadj caught him square with a right hand.

From The King of Fighter 9 in Orleans, France:

Hated those follow-up punches, but otherwise top marks for Belhadj for a picture-perfect counter shot.

Jay Watson vs. Jerry Valme

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before (or literally just seen it): Fighter lunges forward into a right hand. Fighter says farewell to their consciousness.

At an Art of War event in Philadelphia, amateur lightweight Jay Watson waited for just the right moment to uncork a wicked quick hook. Opponent Jerry Valme gave him that moment, eating a knuckle sandwich to the chin that put him flat on his back.

Fernando Peralta vs Sandro Montegroso

I swear this isn’t a replay.

At a Shinka Fight Day event in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Fernando Peralta coolly waited for Sandro Montegroso to step into range and then WHAMMO. Down went Montegroso.

When you’ve got three eerily similar finishes like that, you’ve got to go to the polls to decide Who Countered It Better?

Giannis Kazantzidis vs. Eldar Toleubai

At an MMA Challenge Pro event in Thessaloniki, Greece, Giannis Kazantzidis didn’t join the increasingly crowded Right Hand Counter KO Club, but he did win a vacant heavyweight title with a head kick, so that’s not a bad consolation prize.

Bless Kazantzidis’ heart, he was just letting those kicks fly and hoping for the best. Eat your heart out, Jon Jones!

Carlos Medina vs. Natanael Melendez

Kazantzidis won his fight with what looked to be a glancing shot. This head kick knockout by Carlos Medina? Anything but glancing.

Natanael Melendez is going to have Medina’s shin imprinted on his chin for weeks after that one.

Paddy McCorry vs. Tye Palmer

Last but not least, big shoutouts as always to my Ultimate Fighter peoples.

Paddy McCorry made a decent accounting of himself on TUF 32, showing some quick thinking to counter the wrestling of Mark Hulme with a guillotine choke before losing to Robert Valentin in the semifinals of this past season’s middleweight tournament.

The 26-year-old Irishman returned to Cage Warriors this past weekend, scoring a win in London to improve his record with the promotion to 3-1.

McCorry circled and launched a right hook that bonked off Tye Palmer’s temple, immediately giving Palmer a glimpse at the shadow realm. Great job by referee Dan Movahedi to step in once he saw that Palmer was a goner.

Truthfully, McCorry was probably better off not winning TUF so that he could go back to the regional scene and develop at a more manageable pace. So far, so good.

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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.