Ilia Topuria has yet to book a fight in the UFC after the beating imposed by Justin Gaethje in the main event of UFC White House this past June, and longtime veteran Renato Moicano argues he's the ideal opponent for the former two-division champion when he's ready to re-enter the cage.

Moicano, who faces off with Tom Nolan in the main event of UFC Vegas 123 after Moicano was pulled from the UFC 331 with his original opponent Brian Ortega out due to a cut, said he has a few names in mind for a post-fight callout in case of a victory. The biggest name possible would be Topuria, who had a perfect 17-0 career in MMA prior to the Gaethje knockout.

“Ilia Topuria. That's a name,†Moicano told MMA Fighting. “He needs an easy fight, right? That's the truth. We know how the UFC operates. Either they sacrifice him and Paddy Pimblett [against each other], or they'll give him a fight to keep rolling, so the guy can get his confidence back. And I think his confidence is broken. And look at how life works, man. Six months ago, I was saying this guy could possibly be one of the greatest of all time, but you're only as good as your last fight. And he can come back. He can come back, knock out the next guy, and get back on track.â€

Topuria won his first nine bouts in the UFC before the Gaethje clash, finishing seven opponents including Max Holloway, Charles Oliveira and Alexander Volkanovski, and Moicano would expect him to be more dangerous now after enduring such “humiliation†on the White House lawn.

“And it would be a fucking tough fight because I think this guy is pissed off, right?†Moicano said. “He must be training like an animal. But that's life, right? That's life. I think that fight would make sense. I don't know if the UFC will make it happen. I don't even know if that's the fight I'll ask for. Guilherme, like I'm telling you, do I prepare my speech? No, man. You can already see that I have all of this in my head. I get there, I win, I look somewhere, and it feels like God is telling me, ‘Say this for me.' Obviously, that's not literally what I'm telling you, but I feel in my heart what I'm supposed to say right there, and it's been working since 2022. I just say what's in my heart.â€

“He seems like an intelligent guy who will learn from his mistake. What was his mistake? He thought he could knock out a guy who's difficult to knock out [laughs]. He thought he could knock him out at any moment. And it's one thing to say that, it's another thing to step into the cage and act as if it's true. Man, it's very difficult to do that against Justin Gaethje. He almost knocked him out, but then he took so much damage, got beaten up so badly, that he was destroyed. It was a total humiliation, that's the truth. One of the biggest upsets, a humiliation, losing on the biggest spectacle the UFC has ever had, inside the White House. It created a legend, right? Justin Gaethje became a legend after that night, and it was because of his arrogance. It's that old story: he's going to have to put on the humility shoes, stay nice and quiet, and that makes the guy even more dangerous.â€

The UFC lightweight division has seen a recent influx of new blood as of late, with the devastating debut of Salahdine Parnasse, and could get even deeper with the potential signing of undefeated PFL champion Usman Nurmagomedov. Moicano said he's willing to be the “easy†pray for Topuria, but that wouldn't apply to those other two.

“[UFC] could [offer me]. The difficult part will be getting me to accept it,†Moicano said. “It will be hard to make me accept it. I've been a fool many times in this life. I've been a fool. But the only thing about me that's a fool is my face. The UFC can [offer me]. But like I told you, this is a message I'm going to leave for whoever is reading this article: the market determines your value. You shouldn't measure yourself through other people's eyes. You should know who you are and what your value is. From the moment the UFC doesn't want me anymore, the cycle is over, and that's fine. And you'll never see me talking badly about the UFC. Never. A lot of people even call me the UFC's puppet because I didn't want to accept money that I believe is illegitimate. I signed the contract. That has nothing to do with the UFC; that has to do with my principles.

“Brother, everything I have — today I have a YouTube channel that's going to hit 400,000 people. I'm saying this because I'm fucking good. Moicano is fucking good. Why am I telling you this? It's one thing to get lucky once, it's another thing to get lucky twice, three times, four times. I built a complete career, I got to fight for a championship. You can try to take away the credit for the luck I had or not, God put me there, I fought for a title, and today I have a huge channel. And just like I have a big YouTube channel, just like I'm a UFC athlete, I'm going to use everything I've learned to grow outside the UFC. This isn't the end. This is the beginning.

“So if the UFC wants to force me to take a fight with Nurmagomedov, they'd better give me a lot of money. Otherwise, I'm fine with it. You can talk crap at me. The UFC can be sure of one thing: I'll never talk badly about them. Because if today I have a house, if today I have a family, if today I have assets, if today I have a channel with almost 400,000 people, it's because of the UFC. You can never be ungrateful. You can never spit in the plate you ate from.â€

It all depends on his performance at UFC Vegas 123, though, and Moicano said he understands being put in such position where he would be expected to lose to a younger athlete with years ahead of him in the sport.

“And the UFC didn't just give me a job. No, it gave me a life, it gave me authority, it gave me a purpose,†Moicano said. “Everything that happened in the UFC, I accepted. But now it's time for me to choose a little more, you know? I know the UFC is a company, and they're going to try to do what's best for them. And now that I have an event myself, I completely understand them. You can't take a 37-, 38-year-old guy and expect to build his career. He doesn't have any more time. So what do you have to do? Take the younger guys. But maybe Moicano isn't willing to play that role. We'll see.â€

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.

Corner work is essential to the success of any fighter, whether it's the lowest level amateur boxer or a world champion UFC fighter. It's especially important for a coach to have a proper gauge of when it's time to give a fighter a reality check.

Then again, as we all know, there are many, many, many times where keeping it real can go terribly wrong.

(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.)

A kickboxing match between Soma Kondo and Kei at a Krush event in Tokyo had a darkly comic ending as Kei's corner aggressively tried to psyche him up with a power slap (hey, that's kind of catchy) that certainly got the fighter's attention.

Unfortunately for Kei, it might have done more harm than good, as Kondo later caught him with a kick to his already rattled head.

We should note the editing of this clip (shout-out to Happy Punch) probably makes the proximity of the events seem closer than they actually are, but there's no shaking the visual of Kei getting rocked by his coach and then subsequently being put down for the count even if it was minutes later and not seconds.

Kondo later took to social media to joke about the incident, writing, “Wait, wasn't it me who KO'd them?†according to Twitter auto-translation.

UFC legend Cub Swanson also weighed in, expressing his disdain for that kind of corner physicality.

A little advice for Kei's team: Maybe work on the mental motivation more than just unbridled physicality next time.

We had a number of worthy candidates for Missed Fists Knockout of the Week, but the top 2 that stood out for us were Tyjani Beztati at Levels Fight League 24, and Miguel Soares at Martial Arts Championship 17.

Tyjani Beztati vs. Daniel Kolasinski
Miguel Soares vs. Heitor Santos

Beztati, a former Glory lightweight champion currently 4-0 since making his MMA debut in 2025, executed one of the best intercept knees in recent memory, driving his limb right up into Daniel Kolasinski's face as his head dipped off of an overhand right.

Unlike some intercept knees that I believe are intended for the body and accidentally catch the head, I think Beztati was thinking knockout blow all the way here. What a strike, just sent Kolasinski crashing in the opposite direction. Beztati isn't too bad at this striking thing!

LFL 24 is available for free replay on YouTube.

On the amateur side of things, how can you not get hyped for Miguel Soares after he face-planted Heitor Santos?

The emotion! That's the love of the game right there.

And now, a flurry of Fight Pass finishes.

Cristiano Oliveira vs. Alex Keogh

IMMAF standout Alex Keogh made his second appearance for Cage Warriors and did so as a massive favorite, coming in at -2000 according to Tapology. He needed just 24 seconds to secure a submission in his pro debut, and was expected to make short work of Oliveira as well.

Folks, this is why they play the games.

Anyone can get caught, especially someone in just their second pro fight, and you have to give full credit to Oliveira for fighting like a massive underdog should: Just going in and swinging and hoping for the best. Oliveira went in there throwing stuff and it paid off as he caught Keogh with a clubbing right after stuffing a takedown and then left him limp with a couple of hammerfists.

There's no substitute for experience.

Derek Rayfield vs. Oliver Moeckel
Israel Galvan vs. Devon Jackson

Back to the amateur scene at Tuff-N-Uff 157, where Derek Rayfield needed eight seconds to light up Oliver Moeckel.

Cocked that joint back and banged on him.

The event also featured pro bouts, with Israel Galvan closing out the evening with a first-round bludgeoning of Devon Jackson to claim a flyweight belt.

Pablo Colado vs. Vitor Enrique

Pablo Colado activated Muay Thai mode at WOW 32, bullying Vitor Enrique against the fence and leaving him face-down on the canvas with a Tsarukyan-esque elbow.

Lucas Ananias vs. Jameson Oliveira

We all love a good walk-off knockout, but we don't talk enough about the walk-over.

At Shooto Brasil 140, Lucas Ananias brawled his way to a win, eventually dropping Jameson Oliveira with a left hand and recognizing immediately that his work was done.

Tony Cortez vs. Artem Belakh
Gabi McComb vs. Taylor Maudlin

Something is in the water with this The Ultimate Fighter 34 cast, man.

Artem Belakh bowed out of the TUF 34 bantamweight tournament with a submission loss to future finalist Mahammadali Osmanli in the opening round, and was already back in action at a recent 559 Fights event. As you know, Osmanli failed to win the tournament after landing a blatantly illegal kick on a grounded Ilimbek Akylbek, who himself made it to the final under less than ideal circumstances after his semifinal fight with Xavier Franklin ended in Herb Dean-related controversy.

It was a fine, but strange season.

As you can see above, that vibe carried over into Belakh's first post-TUF fight as he snatched defeat from the jaws of victory with a back take that went horribly wrong.

Also on the card, we've got to shine some light on flyweight prospect Gabi McComb, who improved to 5-0 with a nasty face crank over Taylor Mauldin. McComb is well known in the competitive grappling world and at 28, is one to watch for the future.

Jesus Hernandez vs. Roman Sandoval

At MMA Mexico 9, Jesus Hernandez showed his grit, eating a left hand and then firing back to flatten Roman Sandoval.

Ummat Jafarov vs. Nihat Kerimov

You know, just when you think you've seen all the ways a human body can fall in a fight, something new comes along. In case you missed it, definitely check out poor Jacob Tanner having a face-to-face meeting with the cage wall, but what I'm actually referring to here is an incident that happened at an Ased Fighting Championship show in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Ummat Jafarov landed a clean 3-punch combo on Nihat Kerimov, causing Kerimov to land in an almost perfect cross-legged sitting position on the mat. I mean, he didn't, and actually suffered a few more painful punches before the fight was stopped, but credit to him anyway for inventing yet another way to fall.

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.