The FF-Files: Dawn of a New Day

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Editor's note: The article has been updated at 2 p.m. ET on Oct. 7 to add new results and clarifications.

“Against the grain, against the odds, I’ll rise and I won’t trip again. The dawn of a new day never looked as good as this.” — In Flames, “Dawn of a New Day”

The Sherdog Fight Finder team has undertaken a new, massive project that will overhaul our database in a completely positive way; to be clear, no actual changes in display will occur, only fight classifications. Peeling back the curtain for a moment, the internal mechanisms on our system allowed for manual entry of any and every type of result imaginable, with no guiding track that helped keep things uniform. This changed a few years ago, and it cut down significantly on errant entries, be it improperly added or even misspelled. It is not a point of professional pride to say that there were many typos or misclassifications in the Fight Finder over the 20-plus years of its existence, but that is about to come to an end.

We are only human. Sometimes, information slips through the cracks. Details can get left behind. Fingers slip on the keys. The good intention of coming back later to correct something when the proper pieces come in may fall by the wayside. Stuff happens. When it does, it can be up to the MMA community to alert us to a discrepancy in the records. We are purveyors of truth and always want the best data available on display, and that can need nudges every now and then. It is possible that some fighters may have wayward marks or results on their profiles, so if you are a fighter in need of an update, please reach out to our team. We are always happy to work with you.

In a past FF-Files piece titled “Point of Clarification,” we reviewed a few unusual results that took place in recent memory that needed a bit more description than TKO (Detached Finger) or TKO (Retirement) could provide. Below are several real results listed on Fight Finder, with some already amended, others awaiting the next deployment from our Tech team and a legitimate few that need to be seen to be believed.

Forrest Griffin def. Kevin Brooks via Injury Default (Injured Falling Through Ropes) 0:28 R1
Gauntlet Trials 3, Aug. 26, 2001, Thomaston, Georgia

In this sport, there is technically no way to win by “default.” This could theoretically come up if a fighter suffered an unexpected injury, and the eventual victor did not do anything to cause it. In the early days of MMA, results came in stating a fighter won by default due to injury. One even fell through the ropes and could no longer continue. You might recognize the name of the “victor” for that match: a future Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder in Griffin. When that happens, no matter how disappointing, it should be a technical knockout, or possibly a no contest if it truly was out of the fighters’ hands; however, Sherdog does not have nor do we wish to have authority to overturn bouts, as we are a neutral recordkeeping database, not an arbiter. Therefore, TKO is the most consistent conclusion. On that same night, a fighter forfeited, and forfeits do not count as official results. If the fight never happened, there cannot be a victor. Sorry, Rory Singer.

Robert Sundel def. Musail Alaudinov via Submission (Forfeit) 5:00 R3
Night of the Gladiators 19, Nov. 14, 2003, Opava, Czech Republic

On occasion, fighters do not answer the bell. There is no shame in deciding to call it on account of rain and try again sometime. As the expression goes, “live to fight another day,” and this should be a more widely accepted means for fight stoppages. Fighters know best when they have nothing more to give, and if they don’t, in an ideal world, their corner should feel comfortable stepping in to save them from any irreversible harm.

In the case of Musail Alaudinov, he entered into a one-night tournament in 2003 in the Czech Republic, and he had already put in some hard work, winning once by submission. When it came to the final against Robert Sundel, 15 minutes was all he had in the tank. With no more energy for overtime, the original result wrote “Submission (Forfeit),” but this has since been rectified to a TKO due to retirement. Food for thought: This result is technically marked the same as Diego Brandao climbing out of a Russian cage in 2017, or Guy Mezger getting the short end of the stick in the Pride Grand Prix 2000 Opening Round.

Seth Kleinbeck def. Steve Purdy via TKO (Lost Teeth) R2
Modern Ringsport, March 2, 2002, Sherwood, Arkansas

While some pro fighters scoff at the notion of calling it a day in the cage or ring, those in the amateur ranks should be a bit more cognizant of their mid-fight status. Back in 2002, at a regional event in Sherwood, Arkansas—not to be confused with Sherdog’s founder, Jeff Sherwood—Purdy had the misfortune of running into Kleinbeck on the amateur circuit. Dr. Seth Kleinbeck, M.D., where the initials stood for “Mass Destruction.” No, seriously.

Kleinbeck was a mixed martial artist on the side while practicing family medicine in Arkansas. The doctor saw Purdy, and Kleinbeck’s bedside manner was atrocious, as he knocked out several of his teeth to force referee intervention sometime in the second round. How many were lost, exactly? That may be a secret that only the two fighters and the referee maintain. This was not the end for Purdy, as he scooped his pearly whites off the mat and went on to take several more amateur bouts until turning pro in 2007. There appears to be no truth to the tale that Purdy took a beating from Kleinbeck on Sunday and then consulted his physician—who happened to be Kleinbeck—bright and early Monday morning.

Christine Stanley def. Katie Anita Runyan via KO (Flying Spinning Hook Kick) 0:05 R1
Xplode Fight Series: Tidal Wave, Aug. 23, 2014, Valley Center, California

There are mundane results like retirements and defaults, but anything can and usually does happen in MMA. Spinning kicks? Of course. Flying kicks? Most definitely. How about a flying, spinning kick? Ask Stanley, who lamped Runyan at an Xplode Fight Series show in 2014. Referee Cecil Peoples needed a moment to process what he had just witnessed in the first five seconds of the match, waving the fight off as “Aleeta” was splayed out on the ground, totally unconscious.

Marcus Aurelio def. Jose Cornejo via KO (Flying Switch Kick) 0:43 R1
Battlefield Fight League 10: War, Aug. 20, 2011, Vernon, Canada.

For those who want more bang for their buck from this series, look no further than a trio of flying switch kick knockouts that will stand on their own in this database—an ultra-rare but still very feasible way to render someone unconscious. The first came in 2011 courtesy of a onetime Bellator MMA combatant in Aurelio—no apparent relation to Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius—in Canada, where he taught Cornejo what the five toes say to the face.

Billy Pasulatan def. Brando Mamana via KO (Flying Switch Kick) 2:31 R2
One Pride 41: Pasulatan vs. Mamana 2, Feb. 2, 2021, Jakarta, Indonesia.

Ten years later, Pasulatan, expertly nicknamed “Bruce Lee,” avenged a 2019 loss by drilling Mamana upside the head with a gorgeous flying switch kick in the main event of a One Pride card in Indonesia. Little more needs to be said about its majesty. Another such stoppage took place a few months later, courtesy of a late surge from Xusheng Tian that put away the winless Bayibusheng Alihede with style points at the 2021 Division Finals of JCK’s Night Cage Series. Finally, KSW legend Mamed Khalidov punted rival Scott Askham in their 2020 rematch at KSW 55, exacting revenge for a loss the year before—that result was officially marked in the database as a flying head kick, but a flying switch kick is a more accurate designation. They are officially the only four switch kick-related knockouts registered on Fight Finder, and if you know others that aren’t classified right or are not entered at all, please let us know.

Nick Denis def. Nick Mamalis via KO (Suplex and Chokeslam) 1:03 R2
Wreck MMA: Unfinished Business, Oct. 28, 2011, Gatineau, Canada.

Still not enough? Need even more total annihilation? Look no further than Canada’s Denis, who punched his ticket to the UFC and earned a spot among Sherdog’s top knockouts in 2011 by putting Mamalis through the cage floor. An organization called Wreck MMA promises violence by its name alone, and it delivered that night. Denis lifted the four-fight Bellator MMA veteran in the air with a suplex, and he spun himself around to grab the man known as “Garfield” by the chest and chokeslam him down harder. Mamalis landed right on his head, and the hammerfists delivered by Denis were academic but totally unnecessary as he had already taken Mamalis to school, picked him up after soccer practice, cooked him tuna noodle casserole for dinner and tucked him into bed.

Did we miss any wacky results that need to be corrected or tweaked? Is there a spectacular knockout not given its due in our database? Do we have a result that needs to be updated? Send it, and any other Fight Finder-related inquiries, to [email protected].