Artur Kyshenko vs Vladimir Moravcik

Artur Kyshenko vs.Vladimir Moravcik 
2009-12-12
 K-1 ColliZion 2009 Final Tournament
Prague, Czech Republi

Fight Analysis:

The first round starts with a lot of testing and feeling each other out. Moravcik is very active but Artur does manage to land a few shots to the body and places a good high kick. Near the end of the first round, he becomes more dominant but were I a judge, I'd give it to Vladimir.

In the second round, Moravcik picks up the pace right away: He puts Kyshenko under a lot of pressure with punches and kicks, basically driving him backwards, off balancing him. Artur is a bit at a loss and can't seem to find a way to take the initiative; he mainly tries to counter.

In the second half of the round, he starts fighting back a bit more but still isn't leading the fight. In fact, Vladimir puts him under pressure and drives him into the corner when Kyshenko pulls a rabbit out of his hat: a perfectly timed high kick to the back of his opponent's the neck.  Moravcik drops to the canvas and is counted out, even though he wants to continue.

The high kick that finishes the fight

Strengths:

• Artur keeps on using footwork, he often disturbs the pace of his opponent with a few well chosen steps.
• Despite being on the receiving end of a lot of punches and kicks, not a lot of them get through. Kyshenko's defense did its job.
• He keeps mixing it up, trying different techniques all the time to keep his opponent guessing.

Weaknesses:

• This is not one of his better fights. He looks tired and slow when you compare this fight to some of his others. Maybe he had an off day, maybe he cut weight too much, who knows?  But not his most stellar performance in the ring.
• Especially in the first round, the timing of his punches is off. He misses and swings wide a lot with hooks.

Conclusion:

This fight wasn't all that impressive. Looking at both rounds, I'd say Moravcik was winning on points, even if not by all that much. But Kyshenko is always dangerous and you can't afford many mistakes against him. Vladimir's guard isn't in place when the kick lands and he pays the price for it. 

Hopefully there'll be a rematch soon, because Moravcik certainly deserves one.