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.
MMA
Anthony Smith’s wife, manager release statements after his recent arrest
Published
3 weeks agoon
“We are aware of the reports concerning Anthony Smith's recent arrest. At this time, it would be inappropriate to comment on the allegations or speculate regarding facts that have yet to be fully established.
“Like every individual, Anthony is entitled to the presumption of innocence and the due process protections afforded under our justice system. We respectfully ask that people avoid rushing to judgment based solely on initial reports, as they often do not reflect the complete facts or context.
“Our thoughts are with Anthony and his family as they navigate this difficult and deeply personal matter. We ask that their privacy be respected while the legal process runs its course.
“Out of respect for the ongoing proceedings, we will have no further comment at this time.â€
You may like
At the UFC Sacramento weigh-ins, all 26 fighters on Saturday's fight card step on the scale Friday in Sacramento, Calif. Watch UFC official weigh-in highlights above.
ceremonial weigh-ins above, set to kick off at 6 p.m. ET, with highlights of the morning weigh-ins available below.
In the main event, middleweight contenders Anthony Hernandez and Gregory Rodrigues face off. Both fighters can weigh no more than the 186-pound limit for their non-title fight.
Hernandez is currently tied with Caio Borralho for the No. 5 spot at middleweight in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings after seeing an eight-fight win streak snapped by Sean Strickland. Rodrigues sits at the edge of the rankings at No. 15.
In the co-main event, top-10 heavyweight Serghei Spivac fights Vitor Petrino. Neither fighter may weigh more than 266 pounds.
Official weigh-ins begin at 12 p.m. ET.
Ceremonial weigh-ins begin at 6 p.m. ET.
Check out the UFC Sacramento weigh-in results below.
Main Card (Paramount+ at 8 p.m. ET)
Anthony Hernandez (186) vs. Gregory Rodrigues (185)
Serghei Spivac (257) vs. Vitor Petrino (246)
Reinier de Ridder (205) vs. Roman Dolidze (206)
MarQuel Mederos (156) vs. Mason Jones (156)
Carli Judice (125.5) vs. Jeisla Chaves (124.5)
Terrance Chatman (266) vs. Anthony Wint (231)
Preliminary Card (Paramount+ at 5 p.m. ET)
Jamall Emmers (143.5) vs. Lerryan Douglas (145.5)
Kennedy Nzechukwu (244) vs. Shamil Gaziev (261)
Chris Padilla (156) vs. Nasrat Haqparast (155.5)
Marcio Barbosa (145.5) vs. Ryan Kuse (144.5)
Gauge Young (155.5) vs. Stan Dorsainvil (155.5)
Wes Schultz (186) vs. Jackson McVey (185)
Shanelle Dyer (116) vs. Elise Reed (115)
MMA
Carlos Prates issues warning to Michael Morales: ‘I will knock you out really fast’ after winning UFC title
Published
7 hours agoon
August 21, 2026
Carlos Prates wants to be next in line against UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev, and he's open to defending the title immediately after against undefeated 170-pound contender Michael Morales.
Makhachev said in the aftermath of his UFC 330 title defense over Ian Machado Garry, which went down this past weekend in Philadelphia, that maybe Prates and Morales should face off to determine the rightful contender.
The knockout artist has a different idea in mind, though. Speaking with Champions Collection, Prates was told that Morales said he was afraid to fight him.
“If the guy has two arms, two legs, one dick like me, bro, I can fight him,†Prates said. “He said I'm scared about him? I'm not scared to fight you. I'm No. 1 contender, so I wanna fight for the belt. UFC never offered the fight against you. If they offer me, of course I would knock you out really fast. First round, so don't worry. You're gonna fight and I'm gonna knock you out.â€
“But now wait, [I'll] get my belt and then we can fight. I'm never scared to fight you, bro. Don't worry.â€
Prates claimed that Morales replied to the video he sent him, saying he was “ready to fight†him. The Brazilian then issued him a final message in Spanish.
“After I get my belt, I'll knock you out,†Prates said.
Prates won three straight in the UFC with knockouts over Geoff Neal, Leon Edwards and Jack Della Maddalena to maintain his 100 percent bonus rate in the company, while Morales won seven in a row under the UFC banner with his most recent ones being stoppages against Gilbert Burns and Sean Brady.
MMA
Missed Fists | ‘What the hell was this ref thinking?’: Pros react to referee freezing during brutal knockout beatdown
Published
8 hours agoon
August 21, 2026
Herb Dean has justifiably been taking a lot of guff lately, to the point that we've all wondered several times over the past few years why he's still officiating fights, much less important fights for major promotions.
Well, it could be because the alternatives are grim.
(Big thanks as always to @Barrelelapierna for their weekly lists of the best KOs, 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.)
Byron Wilson vs. Skyler King
Admittedly, you've got to dig deep to find a referee worse than Hokey Pokey Herb (h/t Mike Heck). Our search takes us to the great state of Georgia, where referee Nate Mann might have actually dissociated during the main event of National Fighting Championship 191.
Byron Wilson was absolutely wailing on Skyler King, so Mann could have stepped in at any moment during that onslaught; instead, he barely moved even after Wilson walked off assuming the fight was over since King was hardly defending himself. Of course, fighters shouldn't waive off their own fights, but I'm not going to blame Wilson for not wanting to do any more unnecessary damage.
After the most awkward of pauses, Wilson went right back in and clobbered King with a hard punch (OK, maybe he wanted to do a little more unnecessary damage), which finally snapped Mann back to reality as he moved to stop the fight.
Making this scene even worse, Wilson and King are essentially amateurs, with Wilson fighting for just the second time as a pro and King making his debut. You've got to protect these guys, come on, Mann.
I'm not alone in this as several pros reacted to the clip in the comments.
Chris Weidman: What the hell was this ref thinking?
Jason Miller: NPC REFEREE
Eryk Anders: Ref trippin
Shane Burgos: Refs need to be held accountable for shit like this
King himself even jumped into the comments to question the referee's judgment:
As the guy who took the shot: not really sure how the ref didn't realize I wasn't fighting back when the opponent walked away. I assumed the fight was over because otherwise why would the shots stop?? There was more than enough time to tell that I wasn't getting back into the action
Turpal Khamzayev vs. Angelo Pettis
Miguel Sanson vs. Mefi Monterroso
Josue Sotero vs. Ronnie Gibbs
As plenty of athletes will tell you, it's hard carrying a famous name, and that's just as true in combat sports.
Ladies and gentlemen, here's Angelo Pettis.
Being the cousin of MMA champions Anthony and Sergio is always going to bring plenty of expectations, especially when you consider how they both excelled at a young age, and it's been a tough go for the 21-year-old Angelo so far. In his second pro fight, he was submitted by Gage Mitchell, and this past Sunday he suffered his first knockout loss after taking some brutal kicks from Turpal Khamzayev.
That's a fantastic finish by Khamzayev, who chopped Angelo down before ending it with a flashy spinning wheel kick that the Pettis family should appreciate.
Fortunately for Angelo, he might not have been the worst knockout victim of the night, as Miguel Sanson caught Mefi Monterroso with a savage knee with Monterroso trying to stand up from the mat.
Josue Sotero topped both of those efforts, needing just 22 seconds to put Ronnie Gibbs away with a slick heel hook.
The 24-year-old Sotero improved to 5-0, with three of his wins coming in under a minute.
Anthony Pettis FC 24 is available to stream on UFC Fight Pass.
Damien Deleon vs. Terrell Nixon
Jeremiah Delgado vs. Vincenzo Iannuzzo
Jarrod St. Jean vs. Alius Delarosa
We have a few more Fight Pass goodies, starting with Damien Deleon scoring a ridiculous 11-second head kick knockout over Terrell Nixon on the Fury FC postliminary fights.
Over at CFFC 159, Jeremiah Delgado landed an even better head kick knockout against Vincenzo Iannuzzo.
Started celebrating before Iannuzzo's body even hit the canvas.
Jarrod St. Jean might have a future as a psychic because he perfectly slipped a short hook from Alius Delarosa while simultaneously landing a counter on the money.
Tater McSpadden vs. Fred Freeman
If St. Jean is psychic, Tater McSpadden might be a magician because he showed some serious sleight of hand (er, knee) at an Xtreme Fight Night event in Tulsa, Okla.
Had to watch that one multiple times to see where he slipped in the knee, but it's there, and it was more than enough to stun Fred Freeman and leave him open to some fight-ending hellbows.
Lucas Alfaro vs. Francisco Pepa
At Concordia Fight Night 8 in Argentina, Lucas Alfaro sent Francisco Pepa on a one-way trip to Buenos Aires with a limb-lifting spin kick.
Dude flew, like, two-thirds of the cage on that one.
Marsel Nurlanbek vs. Ermek Nuranov
Let's end on a nightmarish note.
I've often wondered what it would look like if someone didn't tap to a Suloev stretch fast enough and thanks to Octagon League's Marsel Nurlanbek, I have my answer.
Wish I hadn't found out. But I did and now you have, too.
Octagon League 90 is available for free replay 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 X — @AlexanderKLee — using the hashtag #MissedFists.
UFC Sacramento weigh-in video: Hernandez vs. Rodrigues
Carlos Prates issues warning to Michael Morales: ‘I will knock you out really fast’ after winning UFC title
Missed Fists | ‘What the hell was this ref thinking?’: Pros react to referee freezing during brutal knockout beatdown
UFC Sacramento weigh-in video: Hernandez vs. Rodrigues
Carlos Prates issues warning to Michael Morales: ‘I will knock you out really fast’ after winning UFC title
Missed Fists | ‘What the hell was this ref thinking?’: Pros react to referee freezing during brutal knockout beatdown
Trending
-
MMA2 days agoDana White addresses Khamzat Chimaev’s potential UFC 333 return
-
MMA2 days agoUFC 332 adds four bouts as Salt Lake City card takes shape
-
MMA2 days agoJoshua Van reflects on knockout loss that changed his life
-
MMA2 days agoYair Rodriguez out, Jose Delgado steps in against Jean Silva at Noche UFC 4
-
MMA2 days agoLiz Carmouche gets Jena Bishop rematch in Chicago with new PFL title at stake
-
MMA2 days agoLiz Carmouche rematches Jena Bishop for vacant PFL women’s flyweight title in October
-
MMA2 days agoDana White awards six UFC contracts after historic DWCS Week 2
-
MMA2 days agoArman Tsarukyan picks surprising name for Ilia Topuria’s next opponent


