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.