Artur Kyshenko now training at Mike's Gym in The Netherlands

Here's the latest news: apparently, Artur Kyshenko is now training at Mike's Gym in The Netherlands. This gym is run by trainer Mike Passenier, who coaches famous fighters like Badr Hari and Melvin Manhoef.

This is good news actually, as the Dutch school of muay Thai and Kickboxing has produced numerous K-1 champions and top-contenders. If all goes well, Artur can break his losing streak of this year and return in top shape for his upcoming fight against Marcus Oberg.

Here are some pictures of Kyshenko training at Mike's Gym:

Artur Kyshenko v. Marcus Oberg on November 27, 2010 at K-1 Scandinavia

Artur Kyshenko will fight Marcus Oberg on November 27th 2010 at the K-1 Scandinavia event in Stockholm Sweden. The fight will be at super-middleweight, meaning -72,5 Kg. For more info on the event, go here.
Here's the promoclip:

Prediction:
Artur needs a big win to show he's still a contender after being on a losing streak this year. Whereas he needs to be at 70Kg for K-1 and is probably having a hard time making weight, at -72,5Kg, he should be more comfortable and have a lot more endurance.
If he trains well, I think we can expect Kyshenko to be in great shape for this upcoming fight. At the very least, the little bit of extra weight should be a test case for Artur to see if -70Kg. is no longer the weight class for him.

Marcus Oberg isn't a bad fighter but Kyshenko should be able to handle him. Oberg has only 7 KOs out of about 35 fights. Which means he isn't a hard-hitting fighter. Kyshenko on the other hand has plenty of power when he's in shape and he knows how to take a punch. So on paper, he should be able to dominate Oberg from start to finish.

The only wild card is range. Oberg is a tall guy and Kyshenko hasn't fought that many guys his own height. This could prove more difficult for Artur than he anticipates. Especially if Oberg uses his reach well.

Be that as it may, if Artur's training goes well and the extra weight is all he needed to get back into top shape, Marcus will not last the full three rounds...

UPDATE: Check out the video of this fight.


Here are some videos of Marcus Oberg in action:

Artur Kyshenko vs Rayen Simson

Artur Kyshenko vs Rayen Simson
2006-06-30

K-1World MAX 2006 Tournament Final

Yokohama, Japan

Part 1:

Part 2:

Fight Analysis:

Artur begins the fight like he's on a mission: he's very aggressive and puts Simson under pressure right away. He walks forward continuously and places blow after blow, combination after combination. Rayen seems a bit lost at first though he does fight back: he places several good counter punches and lands a couple of nice jabs. But Kyshenko doesn't seem to care, he keeps going in and places a LOT of hooks to the body. The first round is definitely his.

Round two starts with both fighters trading leg kicks. They take turns slamming their shin into the opponent's upper leg and aren't holding back. This goes on for a while but they soon grow tired of the pain and move on. Simson does place a good lead hook in one of those exchanges.  Artur reacts by switching to mainly boxing and going to the body. He pours out the power-punches, particularly in a jab-cross-lead hook combination, forcing Rayen to cover up.
But this costs him a lot of energy and he has to take his foot off the pedal near the end of the round, giving Simson the opportunity to fight back a bit.

Round three gives us a totally different Kyshenko: he knows he's leading on points and only works to secure that lead. He tries to stick and move while throwing a lot of techniques at his opponent. Artur sacrifices power for speed and sheer volume of techniques. Simson gets a few shots in but he never manages to pin Artur down. Later in the round, Kyshenko starts to tire and his techniques seem to lack power. But Rayen doesn't capitalize on this and the fight ends.

Artur Kyshenko wins on points

Strengths:

• Some incredible body shots. Artur shows us one of his signature moves, over and over, especially in the first round. 
• Great fighting spirit. Kyshenko is aggressive from the first second in and tries to force a knockout. He doesn't get one but that's not for lack of trying.
• When Simson puts him under pressure with his leg kicks in the beginning of the second round, he wises up in time to realize he's not going to win that game. So he switches to something he's better at than his opponent. Good tactical thinking.
  

Weaknesses:

• He still walks into punches he could have avoided. Artur often stands still right in front of Simson when he finishes his attack. That gives Simson all he needs to counter. Not so smart. 
• Kyshenko drops his hands too much after landing punches. Even at the beginning of the fight when he is still fresh, you can see this happen way too often. Rayen manages to use it against Artur a couple of times but never lands with enough power to do serious damage. Which is a blessing for Kyshenko because otherwise he would have been knocked out.
• Cardio,cardio,cardio. Artur does a lot of work but he runs out of gas in the second round. For a guy at his level, this shouldn't happen. As a result, he is unable to hit really hard in the last round. Had he faced a stronger opponent, this could have been a nightmare for him.

Artur Kyshenko doing his trademark body blow

Conclusion:

Not a bad fight. Artur shows a lot of heart and determination. At times, his timing and techniques are sublime. But because his defense and conditioning isn't at the same level, he gets a couple of close calls where he could have been dropped to the canvas.

It looked like this fight gave him some more experience against tough fighters who aren't impressed by his reputation and who can take a beating without giving up right away.  Given that he'll go on to lose his next two fights on decision, he probably didn't learn that lesson well enough at that time.

Artur Kyshenko vs. Mohammed "Mootje" Khamal - Post-fight interview

This is the post-fight interview after the Artur Kyshenko vs. Mohammed "Mootje" Khamal fight.

Here is a quick translation provided by somebody on Youtube (so I don't know how accurate it is):

Q1: What do you think about this fight?
A1: I think I have won. And I think judges wrongly gave victory to other guy. And I can't understand why how judges give the points. May be I have lost in first round, but I am sure I have won 2nd and 3rd one

Q2: I see the injuries at your face and your leg. When did you get these damages?
A2: I didn't get any damage but moral damage since I didn't win. And every fighter has some scratches or minor wounds after fight. You are asking such a questions, but it's impossible to get outside of the ring without wounds. Every fighter has it.

Q3: You have lost at the end of this year. And this year has ended. What do you think about it?
A3: I think I have more fights ahead. Of course this is not the best ending of the year. But this is life, I don't agree with that decision, and ... I don't know we will probably apply appeal. I will add one more thing - I don't think I have lost this fight.


Q4: I know in the June of this year there was I fight in Japan where you have also lost. Have that fail affected this fight?
A4: No, there is no relation at all.

Q5: Now I support you and we expect you to win your next fight.
A5: Thanks... I want people to explain rules, how do they count the points. For punches, kicks or for knee kicks?? At current moment I can't understand already how they count the points! For moving forward or for retreating? For hand punches or for kicks? I really don't understand how do they calculate the points! I want them to explain more detailed, let them watch video fight once again at home and make another decision...

A5: I would like to add one more thing - since they forbid clinches, let them forbid to use head since I got second face injury because of that. Let them take some measures to prevent fighters to avoid dangerous head movements. They strike with the head too often.

If you want to know why Artur, read below...

Comments:
Artur looked very disappointed indeed, just look at his face. If he really thought he had won the fight, then that's understandable. But I'm pretty sure he'll reconsider once he views the footage at home. The third round is perhaps a closer call than some would like but you can't really say Artur is the clear winner in that one. Khamal outworked him, plain and simple. Go here for more fight analysis.

Kyshenko is a great fighter but he needs to work on a couple of things to do better in today's K1:

• Work on his stamina. He needs to be able to go 3 rounds at full speed and power. That certainly wasn't the case against Khamal. 
• Develop stopping power. Especially in the first round, he spent too much time doing his beloved "stick and move" number. He needs to get back to bone-crushing punches and kicks that give his opponents a reason to not just storm forward and rush him.
• Work on his combinations. He has both the speed, timing and technique to throw monster-combinations if he wants to. Combos are part and parcel of the K1 MAX game, Kyshenko should know that by now as he used them well enough in the past. Then again, longer combinations require great conditioning and he doesn't seem to have that worked out well enough these days. 

Here's hoping Artur gets these things sorted out and he can come back to claim what his within the reach of such a talented fighter: the K1 Max crown. 

Artur Kyshenko vs. Mohammed "Mootje" Khamal

Artur Kyshenko vs. Mohammed "Mootje" Khamal

2010-10-03

K-1 World MAX 2010 Final 16

Seoul, South Korea

Fight Analysis:

The first round shows a tentative Kyshenko who is feeling out his opponent. Lots of push kicks but they usually get caught and used against him. Khamal is not impressed and seriously out-punches Artur: his hand speed is a step above Artur's, so are his combinations. Kyshenko is lucky his guard is closed tight because the gloves are coming in from all directions. This round clearly goes to Mohammed.

Round two has Kyshenko doing a lot of work: he's much more aggressive than before and scores a lot of points. Artur sticks and moves and it looks like Khamal doesn't really know what to do right away: he just closes his guard and takes the punishment. But he isn't hurt, he just keeps on walking forward.

Khamal only takes action in the last seconds of the round but he does place a solid left hook to the body which seems to hurt Artur. 

This round is for Artur, for sure.

The last round starts off hectic: both fighters go at it hard. They both try to score as many points as possible and pour out tons of combinations. At first it looks like it can go either way but the longer the round goes on, the clearer it becomes: Mootje Khamal is out-classing and out-working Artur Kyshenko. He just scores more than Artur does and even manages to catch him with a nice overhand right. 

Khamal is the winner of this fight; no questions asked.

Artur Kyshenko vs Mohammed Mootje Khamal: Kyshenko getting manhandled against the ropes

Strengths:

• Artur has amazing talent, this is is still evident in this fight. He technique is good and so is his timing. Nothing wrong there. When he lands, you see perfectly executed punches and kicks.

Weaknesses:

• Unfortunately, there are a lot of bullets in this category so let's get started...
• Kyshenko starts too slowly. In the first round, he Khamal gives about three techniques back for every single one he receives from Kyshenko. Artur should have noticed that right away and changed his game-plan from trying out Mohammed's defense to putting him under pressure.
• As of round three, Artur was running on empty. He was still firing shots but they lacked power and determination. Maybe he's having too hard a time cutting weight and it's eating his stamina? Who knows? But he sure wasn't in the necessary shape for a three-round brawl. 
• His techniques lacked stopping power. Artur can hit plenty hard, as proven in many other fights but in this one, his punches and kicks didn't slow down his opponent. Which forced him to fight a running battle, which is always a tough thing to do. Especially if your stamina isn't up for it...

Conclusion:

Mohammed "Mootje" Khamal deserved the win in this fight. Kyshenko didn't fight at 100% for reasons we don't know just yet. Regardless what these may be, he didn't do enough to take the win here.
As of right now, I'd say his future is questionable. In the last few fights, he lacked the power and stamina that made him such a dangerous fighter a few years ago. But now, he's mainly getting by on his talent and timing. That won't do as he fights stronger opponents who are hungry and out to take his place.
I hope his team and coaches are aware of this and can do what is needed to get his career back on track. Fingers crossed...