T.J. Dillashaw thinks Max Holloway wasn’t defensively responsible enough against Ilia Topuria.

Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) retained his featherweight title in this past Saturday’s UFC 308 headliner by becoming the first fighter to knock out Holloway (26-8 MMA, 22-8 UFC). The power difference was evident early, but Holloway was starting to find success with his jab in Rounds 2 and 3 before Topuria landed a blistering left hook to sit him down.

Former UFC bantamweight champion Dillashaw credited Holloway for circling well in the first couple of rounds but thinks “Blessed” ultimately got too comfortable standing in front of Topuria and exchanging, which cost him.

“I think he (Holloway) got too comfortable in the second round,” Dillashaw said on the “JAXXON Podcast.” “He started piecing him (Topuria) up, right? He’s using his distance, he had a great jab, he’s hammering his jab, and Max is a volume guy.

“His volume’s working, he gets better and better as the fight goes on, and I think when it got into the third round, he got a little comfortable, and Topuria’s fast as f*ck. He did that slapping hook to get his hands away from his face with that overhand right and then it changed everything.”

Dillashaw heaped praise on Topuria’s boxing, calling him No. 1 the UFC’s ever had.

“He could be a boxer,” Dillashaw said of Topuria. “Legitimately I feel like he could be an actual boxer. I think he’s the best boxer that’s been in the UFC cage in my opinion, technique wise. …He makes you miss with like the littlest movements.

“He’s not dramatic. He keeps his weight underneath him. His feet are always perfectly underneath him, he can throw power at any time, and he makes you miss just by a little bit. He’s got his head motion just a little bit off the line. You throw a jab, he slips it.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.

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The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) is to apologise for its handling of contract negotiations with the senior women’s team, but has refuted fresh allegations of sexism.

WRU chair Richard Collier-Keywood and chief executive Abi Tierney admitted serious failings in the process and that it was “absolutely clear” the governing body should say sorry to players.

It has been claimed players were threatened with being withdrawn from the Rugby World Cup.

Players were dealt a three-hour ultimatum to sign contract amid threats that the women’s national squad would go on strike before the match against Scotland in August.

The new claims of sexism and inequality come less than a year after a damning independent review into its culture following a BBC Wales investigation.

“This is not a good day for us, we totally accept that. We should have done better and we didn’t, but we have learned our lessons and we will keep trying to improve,” said Collier-Keywood.

A review of the contract negotiation process is expected to publish its recommendations later this month.

More follows

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.

Halloween has come and gone, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t frightful fights to be revisited.

In fact, our first clip of the week is guaranteed to disturb you more than any scary movie you watched last night.

(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.)

Kimbert Alintozon vs. Estrada Donga-as

If you’re reading Missed Fists, you know what you’re getting into as far as seeing a variety of knockouts and submissions that will make even the most seasoned combat sports fan squirm, so we don’t usually issue warnings for what you’re about to watch.

Still, this knockout from a Zeus Combat League show in Quezon City, Philippines, requires extra caution. Just scroll past to the next section if you’d rather not see what is, without hyperbole, the most gut-wrenching KO of the year.

OK, here it is.

Kimbert Alintozon tagged Estrada Donga-as with a combo that had Donga-as retreating. Unfortunately, he stepped right into an Alintozon power punch that violently separated him from his consciousness.

The way Donga-as fell looked plenty scary, but the grisly scene didn’t stop there. In the footage above, you get a clear view of his lower body rapidly twitching for an uncomfortable amount of time. Unsurprisingly, Donga-as needed to be stretchered out of the cage.

Nissi Icasiano, the reporter who uploaded the footage, later shared an update on Donga-as’ status.

“Donga-as was immediately taken to the hospital but managed to return before the event concluded. This journalist caught up with him in the dugout, where he shared that his CT scan and other test results were clear.”

Let’s hope Donga-as is taken care of and doesn’t return to action anytime soon.

Cam Rowston vs. Blair Bretag

With that ugliness out of the way, let’s move on to a clip featuring one of my favorite submissions: The calf slicer!

At a Stealth Fighters League show in Auckland, New Zealand, Cam Rowston showed off some sweet grappling skills, opening up a turtling Blair Bretag with the leg submission that caused an immediate tap.

Still nasty, but considerably less troubling to look at, right?

Daichi Kamiya vs. Raymart Quintana

This next submission from Eternal MMA 89 (available on UFC Fight Pass) is the stuff of nightmares, though.

Daichi Kamiya had Raymart Quintana tied up something fierce, eventually putting him away with a modified twister. At least that’s what I think that is, your guess is as good as mine. If I was Quintana, even if I wasn’t in clear danger, I’d tap just like he did because I’m not waiting to find out if the predicament was about to get a lot worse.

Hat tip to Kamiya, a 25-year-old lightweight who is now 6-0 as a pro. Kamiya has only been competing since 2022 and dreams of following in the footsteps of his idol Khabib Nurmagomedov and someday becoming UFC lightweight champion. Not a bad start to his career so far.

Jadon Shuey vs. Lukas Nazad

From a Flex Fight Series event in Queens, N.Y., amateur lightweight Jadon Shuey picks up the spectacular KO win and nails an even more spectacular post-fight cage flip.

No notes.

Can Hircin vs. Tom Molenaar
Barry Irausquin vs. Freek Van Iersel

Can Hircin stalked his prey like The Predator (uhh, the classic sci-fi alien, not Francis Ngannou… though this was kind of Ngannou-esque, now that I think about it) and landed a right hand wrecking ball on poor Tom Molenaar.

No setup, just load it and let it rip.

Speaking of which, Barry Irausquin got to slipping and ripping with this gorgeous 19-second punch-out of Freek Van Iersel.

He’s a super-Freek, super-Freek, he’s super-unconscious, yeeeoooooow.

Not my best work.

You can watch a free replay of Levels Fight League 14 from Amsterdam on the promotion’s YouTube channel.

Ilzat Asiev vs. Bekhruz Isroilov

There are so few positions in MMA where you are “safe,” as it were, and this definitely wasn’t one of them.

Ilzat Asiev and Bekhruz Isroilov were engaged in some spirited grappling, with Isroilov using a whizzer to block a takedown. Unfortunately for Isroilov, he never managed to free his arm, so when Asiev straightened him up, he was left wide open for that knockout knee.

Great timing, but chill on the ground-and-pound, my dude.

A replay of Octagon League 65 from Almaty, Kazakhstan is also available for free on YouTube.

Christopher Alvidrez was putting it on onetime Bellator fighter Albert Gonzales at a Lights Out Xtreme Fighting show in Long Beach, Calif., but the resilient Gonzales kept coming at him like a zombie.

Only one solution for that: head shot.

No reanimating after that. One of those knockouts that’s so bad, Alvidrez showed instant remorse after. Spooky stuff, for sure.

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.

“Because I’ve got the armband, I’m not going to change before the game. I’ll try to do my talking with my feet.”

Miller recalled that “the last time I was at Hampden, I was in the stand watching a League Cup final” – a 2-0 defeat by Celtic in 2017 – and now he hopes to lead them to a victory against the other side of the Old Firm.

“To captain this club is what dreams are made of,” he said. “It’s where I’ve been most of my life really and the fact that I came through the academy and to captain your team at Hampden is a massive thing for me.”

Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell said the decision was an “easy one”.

“He maybe not the loudest voice in there, but his level of performance I believe leads other players,” he explained. “I believe at times some of what he does on a football pitch can be an inspiration to others even at that young tender age.

“When asking that question of Lennon, you guys won’t be surprised to learn that he shrugged his shoulders and said yeah, no problem at all.”

FRUSTRATED Man United stars held their own private summits into the club’s disastrous start to this season.

The players concluded former boss Erik ten Hag was responsible for a loss of eight points.

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Some of the dressing room went through the failures this season in private and tried to identify what was going wrong.

They took culpability for a woeful performance against Spurs and losing against West Ham after missing numerous chances to score.

But they also believed Ten Hag’s tactics and substitutions during games had seen them drop eight points.

If they had bagged those points, United would now have 19 points – one more than Arsenal in third and Aston Villa in fourth.

Instead, they sit in 14th place ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash against Chelsea.

A source said: “The players definitely know they have underperformed in some games this season and have been honest about that.

“But they were also left puzzled by some of Ten Hag’s decisions which didn’t make sense to them.

“Either leaving players out, subbing off players who were playing well at crucial parts in games, or instructing the team tactically in ways that they believe cost them games.

“They reckon his decisions were directly responsible for the equivalent of losing two games and picking up a point instead of a win.”

Ten Hag was sacked on Monday after United dominated the game against West Ham, but still lost 2-1.

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The Red Devils have scored just eight goals in nine Premier League fixtures this season and have conceded 11.

Overall, they have recorded just three wins, drawing two and losing four.

Ruben Amorim was announced as Ten Hag’s successor on Friday.

The 39-year-old arrives with a strong reputation after leading Sporting Lisbon to two titles in Portugal.

In a statement, the club wrote: “Manchester United is delighted to announce the appointment of Ruben Amorim as Head Coach of the men’s first team, subject to work visa requirements.

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“He will join until June 2027 with a club option of an additional year, once he has fulfilled his obligations to his current club. He will join Manchester United on Monday 11 November.

“Ruben is one of the most exciting and highly rated young coaches in European football.

“Highly decorated as both a player and coach, his titles include winning the Primeira Liga twice in Portugal with Sporting CP; the first of which was the club’s first title in 19 years.

“Ruud van Nistelrooy will continue to take charge of the team until Ruben joins.”