Missed Fists: Tyson Nam lands one-punch knockout in first post-UFC fight

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.

You can’t keep a good fighter down and there may not be a better example of that than Tyson Nam.

(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.)

Tyson Nam vs. Mark Coates

When you get that run in the big show and then fall short of stardom, it would be easy to hang up the gloves and move on to a less hazardous gig. How many fighters have you seen pop up in the UFC or Bellator or the PFL with a modicum of hype, lose more than they win, and then you never see their name in a headline again? It’s a long list.

Tyson Nam has been scrapping professionally for 18 years, and he’s worn just about every hat you can as a cagefighter. He’s been the prospect, the spoiler, the fringe contender, the action fighter, and, yes, the ex-UFC guy putting in work on the regional scene.

He’s fought for EliteXC, World Series of Fighting, Fight Nights Global, and the UFC. He almost fought for Bellator after a shocking 2012 knockout of then-Bellator champion Eduardo Dantas at a Shooto Brasil event, but that deal never materialized for a variety of reasons. He’s squared off with the best of the best, including Sergio Pettis, Marlon Moraes, Kai Kara-France, and Ali Bagautinov, scoring an upset KO of the latter.

All of this is to say that Nam, 40, doesn’t quit and in his first fight since parting ways with the UFC last July, he did what he does best: Put a man to sleep in highlight-reel fashion.

I have no clue how poor Mark Coates got into this mess. “Marky Mark” entered this past weekend’s Front Street Fights main event in Boise, Idaho, with a 10-8 record, so paired up with the far more accomplished Nam the outcome was exactly what you’d expect. Nam caught Coates throwing a lazy kick and one-shotted him into another galaxy.

Afterwards, Nam was asked what’s next for him and it doesn’t sound like he has any plans to retire off of this W.

“I don’t know,” Nam said. “Go to the bar and buy me some food.”

If you’re a smaller promotion, you bring in a guy like Nam to boost ticket sales ,and I hope it worked, because those in attendance were also treated to a vicious knockout by pro debutant Anthony Castro.

That staredown-walk-off combo is hard to beat.

You can watch a free replay of Front Street Fights 28 on YouTube.

Jake Caskey vs. Ryan Kennedy
Julian Menjivar vs. Jake Bernard

We go from an MMA lifer to a couple of amateurs just beginning their journey, Jake Caskey and Julian Menjivar, who absolutely smoked their foes at a Cage Titans event in Plymouth, Mass.

First up, we have Caskey putting Ryan Kennedy down with a straight right.

This angle doesn’t provide a great look at the finish, but if you have a decent pair of headphones you can hear the loud BOOP that signals the end for Kennedy.

Menjivar—no relation to the great Ivan Menjivar as far as I know—was literally a caged animal in his flyweight bout with Jake Bernard and he lashed out accordingly.

Bernard was confidently walking Menjivar down and didn’t realize the danger he was in until it was too late.

You can watch a replay of Cage Titans 64 and more regional action with a subscription to Spectation Sports.

Christopher Lalone vs. Kyler Smith

In more amateur action, here’s Christopher Lalone walking through strikes to land a nasty head kick at a Rage in the Cage event in Stillwater, Okla.

For the entirety of that 20-second clip, from when opponent Kyler Smith is stinging him with shots, to the knockout, to the celebration, Lalone’s expression doesn’t change once. Dude was chilling in there.

Patrick Vespaziani vs. Simon Schuster
Max Coga vs. Pantelei Taran

At a National Fighting Championship (not to be confused with Fight Nation Championship) event in Frankfurt, Germany, heavyweight prospect Patrick Vespaziani connected with the left hand from Hell to put away Simon Schuster.

Props to the referee for being in perfect position to save a laid-out Schuster from further punishment.

We gave Nam his flowers at the top, but shout-out to 35-fight veteran Max Coga, who headlined this card.

With a precision uppercut, Coga robbed Pantelei Taran of his senses and captured a vacant lightweight title. “Mad Max” had a forgettable run in the PFL’s inaugural season back in 2018, but he’s stayed on his grind and now has a new trophy to show for it.

Jordan Barton vs. Itay Tratner

At a Fight Nation Championship (not to be confused with National Fighting Championship) event in Ljubljana, Slovenia, featherweight champion Jordan Barton successfully defended his title against Itay Tratner and also earned our Humpty Dumpty Fall of the Week award.

Sometimes a good ol’ 1-2 is all you need to keep the good times rolling.

Tatiane Aguiar vs. Carolina Kerr
Mariusz Mikolajewski vs. Joshua Onwordi
Carlos Pereira vs. Darren Stewart

We close out with a visit to the wonderful world of UFC Fight Pass, first stopping off at Shooto Brasil 121 in Rio de Janeiro to show our appreciation to Tatiane Aguiar.

It looked like it would be a two-horse race between Tina Black and Eun Bi Cho for the best knockout by a female fighter this year, but Aguiar’s “Anderson Silva foot-to-the-face” homage has emphatically entered the conversation.

I’m pretty sure if you dropped this KO over a silhouette of Silva’s classic finish, it would be *ahem* virtually identical.

Over at Cage Warriors 169 in London, Mariusz Mikolajewski showed why patience is a virtue as he waited for just the right moment to launch this devastating knee.

He doesn’t throw a single strike in the lead-up to that KO shot. Impressive stuff.

As for your weekly reminder that age ain’t nothing but a number, here’s 53-fight veteran Carlos Pereira dusting former UFC fighter Darren Stewart.

Pereira actually turned 45 just days after this bout, so you can assume he had a birthday celebration to remember. “Indio” has been in the business for over 22 years and holds a win over Vicente Luque (in 2013!). Tapology and Sherdog exist to chronicle the trials and tribulations of guys like Pereira.

Salute.

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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.