Missed Fists: Twin allegedly replaces twin to win tournament in German MMA scandal

Joshua and Jeremias Homburg | Attila Korkmaz, YouTube

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.

Shenanigans! Lies! Scandal!?!?! Is nothing sacred in our pure and pristine world of fistfighting?

To say that controversy arose this past week at a German MMA Championship show would be an understatement, as the promotion itself released a video accusing twin brothers Joshua and Jeremias Homberg of pulling the ol’ switcheroo to win an amateur tournament.

Let’s head to the scene!

(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.)

Joshua Jeremias (???) Homberg vs. David Minnemann

On Saturday in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Joshua Homberg participated in a four-man tournament that allegedly became a five-man tournament after it’s believed his brother Jeremias stepped in to replace him in the final. The news was first broken by GMC, who released their own video detailing the scandal.

And if you’re like me and don’t exactly sprechende Deutsch with fluency, here’s MMA veteran Attila Korkmaz with the English breakdown.

Here’s what we know for sure: Joshua fought Nenad Grujic in the first semifinal and came out with a win, though he appeared to be the worse for wear afterwards. According to Korkmaz, Joshua was hindered by a leg injury, leaving his participation in the final in doubt, though Joshua heroically powered through and surprisingly looked fresh as a daisy for his second walkout of the night.

Fresh as a daisy with fresh ink, as well. Tattoos can clearly be seen on his chest and forearm that were not present before, which raised suspicion to say the least (the towel slung over the shoulder was a nice touch). Those tattoos also just so happened to be identical to those of his brother, Jeremias. Funny, that.

Homberg (which one???) won the fight and tournament via head kick, but it wasn’t long before the triumph was spoiled by inquisitive (read: anyone with two eyes) fans noticing the discrepancies and calling the brothers out for their deceit.

Maybe this was just a publicity stunt on the part of the promotion (had they not addressed it themselves, I’m not sure if it would have made this many waves), but any way you look at it, this is bonkers. How did they think they would get away with this? What are the repercussions? Should the Tafa brothers totally try this sometime?

WTF or as they say in Germany: Zum Teufel!

Martin Stapleton vs. Leandro Lima

Sorry, have to indulge in a little more weirdness before we get to the meat of this feature.

At a Full Contact Contender event in Bolton, England, that aired on UFC Fight Pass, veteran lightweight Martin Stapleton scored the 20th win of his career in a manner that will go down as both forgettable and somehow strangely memorable.

That looked like a standard TKO at a glance, but it soon became evident that it wasn’t Stapleton’s fists that did the job there. Rather, a swangin’ and bangin’ Leandro Lima simply overextended with his punches and ended up injuring his arm. Sometimes the best offense really is the best defense.

Jake Pilla vs. Shawn Johnson
Damian Nelson vs. Travis Demko

And sometimes the best offense is a leg submission out of nowhere.

At a Combat FC 9 show in Wilmington, Mass., Jake Pilla needed less than a minute to lock in this kneebar from Shawn Johnson’s back. It doesn’t look like Johnson had any idea he was in danger until the pressure instantly ramped up and he tapped as fast as he could. Hopefully no serious injury for Johnson.

As for Pilla, he’s no stranger to Missed Fists as he’s probably one of the most exciting and unpredictable fighters on the regional scene. As an amateur, he won a fight with a beautiful handstand kick, and he scored memorable sub-30-second finishes in 2022 and in 2023. None of his eight pro bouts have gone past the opening round, including his two losses.

Don’t blink when Pilla is in there, is what I’m saying.

In the main event, Damian Nelson defended his featherweight title with this whopper of a knockout.

Jose Sandoval vs. Aupuni Pagaoa

Speaking of surprise submissions, Jose Sandoval scored a comeback heel hook against Aupuni Pagaoa at an LFA event that went down Thursday in Las Vegas ahead of UFC 313.

Pagaoa caught Sandoval with at least two solid right hands square on the chin, plus some serious ground-and-pound, but Sandoval kept his composure. He goes all in on attacking Pagaoa’s leg, buying himself time to recover and, as we’d soon see, maneuvering Pagaoa into a brutal leg lock.

John Poppie vs. Mike Jones

And now for some brute force.

At a Fierce FC show in Salt Lake City, John Poppie went “Hulk Smash!” on Mike Jones, simply scooping him up off the ground, into the air, and then back down onto his damn head. If you check the comments, the promotion replied to a fan telling them that Jones is OK, so let’s hope that’s the case, because that’s about as rough a landing as you’ll see inside the cage.

Jason Jones vs. Sevak Hakobyan

Things went much better for Jason Jones at Up Next Fighting 23 in California.

Rocking a truly magnificent skullet, Jones had to deal with some adversity as Sevak Hakobyan was lighting him up with jabs and leg kicks. When Hakobyan went to trade right hands with Jones, the action quickly turned, with Jones being quicker to the draw and leaving Hakobyan doing his best Raygun impression as the referee waved off the contest.

Digamber Singh Rawat vs. Neeraj Panghal
Aminder Bisht vs. Thokchom Nanao

Matrix Fight Night continues to make its mark in the India combat sports scene and a recent event in New Delhi featured a pair of chins getting straight detonated.

Undefeated lightweight prospect Digamber Singh Rawat scored his third straight first-round knockout to improve to 5-0, while flyweight Aminder Bisht made it three wins in three outings as a pro with his one-hitter quitter.

You can catch a free replay of MFN 16 on YouTube.

Nurkhan Zhumagazy vs. Tesheboev Zhorabek
Asyljan Tasket vs. Alexey Kolniyazov

Shades of Lyoto Machida? You know that’s getting a Missed Fists shout-out.

Nurkhan Zhumagazy stayed cucumber cool as Tesheboev Zhorabek bounced around looking for an angle, and when the time was right, he rifled in a left, and that was all she wrote for Zhorabek.

Sneaky lefts were the order of the day, apparently, because Asyljan Tasket also uncorked a southpaw strike that instantly ended a man’s night. Could have done without the blatant punch to the back of the head afterwards, though.

Alash Pride 106 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.