Artur Kyshenko vs. Gago Drago: Fight video

Another update on Artur Kyshenko vs. Gago Drago:

We just found a video of the fight. It starts right as the bell sounds so you won't see the first couple of seconds well. But after that, it's all good.  We'll get back to you with some analysis of the fight soon. In the mean time, enjoy Artur's performance:

Artur Kyshenko Documentary

Here's a documentary/interview on Artur Kyshenko. In the video, you'll see footage of him training but also of his personal life, his house and hometown. Mind you, it's in Japanese so you might not understand what's being said. But you can watch Artur kick ass instead then. :-)

New Artur Kyshenko Highlight Video

Here's another Artur Kyshenko highlight video. You'll like this one because you not only see him in action but also get some pictures of him as a kid. Cool stuff, enjoy!

Artur Kyshenko vS. Gago Drago promoclip

It's Showtime just released the promoclip for their event in Amsterdam on March 6th. As you know, Artur will fight Gago Drago there. Here's the clip:

Looking at the fight card, you can see this is another 70Kg fight for Artur. This means he'll have to cut weight again, which could prove to be problematic:
 Kyshenko fought reasonably well  at -72.5Kg against Öberg, better than in his previous fights. He looked a little soft in that fight, so the extra couple pounds probably helped. If he has to cut weight hard to get below 70Kg. he might come in lacking stamina again.
When you go up against Drago, that's not a good thing. Drago has a tremendous work ethic in the ring: he may not have the biggest punch but he keeps on working from the first second until the final bell sounds.
Check out his latest fight against Yavuz Kabayashi on December 11s:

He eats a full knee in the last round, just gets back up and works hard.

Kyshenko needs to be in great shape to avoid getting steamrolled by Gago. Given that his conditioning has been problematic this year, it'll be interesting to see if he can pull it off at -70Kg.


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Tomorrow: Artur Kyshenko vs. Marcus Oberg

Don't forget that the Artur Kyshenko vs. Marcus Oberg fight is tomorrow. As soon as we know the winner or can find video, we'll post it here.

Artur Kyshenko - Highlight

Here's a recent highlight video for Artur Kyshenko. Enjoy!

Documentary on Marcus Oberg, Artur Kyshenko's opponent on November 27, 2010 at K-1 Scandinavia

As you know, Artur Kyshenko will fight Marcus Oberg on November 27th 2010 at the K-1 Scandinavia event in Stockholm Sweden. The promoter just released a 15min. documentary on his opponent, Marcus Oberg.
Unfortunately, it's in Swedish and there are no subtitles. But if you'd like to see how Oberg does in training, there are several scenes showing his work in the gym.

From the way it looks, Marcus means business and is taking this fight pretty damn seriously. So Artur better come prepared. That said, as Kyshenko is training at Mike's Gym in The Netherlands now, it'll be interesting to see how his fighting-style will evolve under a new coach.

Analysis:

• Artur wasn't doing all that great this year. He desperately needed to shake up his training. So moving to another gym is probably a good idea.
• Rumor has it Kyshenko hasn't decided to stay at Mike's Gym just yet though. Apparently, he's trying out different gyms and coaches to see where he would fit the best. That's smart.
• That said, Mike Passenier has a proven track record in training K-1 fighters so it sounds like a safe bet.
• Kyshenko's traditional Muay Thai style isn't working for him anymore in K-1 like it did before. Like all sports, K-1 is constantly evolving. Pure muay Thai is no longer the best fit for that venue and the Dutch fighters and coaches have known this for a long time. They train specifically for K-1 and that's exactly what Artur needs right now. 
• There will be plenty of high-level sparring partners for Kyshenko to train with. I think that's a key factor in turning things around for him. He needs people who challenge him every day and teach him new ways of using his incredible talent. 

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Artur Kyshenko doing some boxing focus mitt training

Check out Artur doing some boxing-style focus mitt training. Apparently he's been working with the people at A Million Styles Boxing to improve his game. In these clips, you can see Kyshenko doing some very specific drills and punch combinations.

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 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. 

Artur Kyshenko vs Chi Bin Lim

Artur Kyshenko vs Chi Bin Lim 

2007-07-21 

K-1 Fighting Network KHAN 2007 

Seoul, Korea

Fight Analysis:

Artur starts the first round with pretty much nothing else but walking forward. He seems determined to go toe-to-toe with Lim. At first, he seems to have a little trouble finding the right distance but near the end of the round, his timing and distance is pretty good.
Lim puts up a good fight though. He doesn't let Artur just walk all over him and tries his best to keep him at bay.

Early in the second round, Kyshenko throws a beautiful jab-lead hook- right leg kick combo and nails his opponent with his shin. You can clearly see chi Bin Lim is hurting and Kyshenko goes after him with a couple more leg kicks. A couple 8-counts later the fight is all over.

Strengths:

• Once again, Artur combines speed and power well.
• He shows some nice counters, especially in the last part of the first round.
• Despite moving forward all the time, he keeps his defense up relatively well.
  

Weaknesses:

• In the first part of R1, he walks into a couple of his opponent's shots. It looks like he was a bit overconfident or didn't have the guy's measure yet. Either way, he should have been a bit more careful. As mentioned above, he kept his guard up and wasn't punished for it.
• With some more explosiveness in his footwork, he could have put a lot more pressure in the first round. Instead of exploding off the line, he often just casually steps forward to strike. With his reach advantage, this could have made his techniques even more powerful and harder to defend against.

Conclusion:

Another good fight by a Kyshenko.Though he seems a bit careless in the beginning, he stays focused and finishes his opponent off without rushing it when he smells blood.

Artur Kyshenko highlight: body shot

This is a pretty good highlight of Artur Kyshenko's previous fights. I clearly shows his love for throwing body shots using hook and straight punches.



Kyshenko lands many of his left hooks to the body because:

• He hides them well with other punches, setting them up.
• He often stays upright when he throws them, with the forearm horizontal. This allows him to come in from the side and around the arms of his opponent.
• It also makes it more difficult for the opponent to spot the body shot coming as many fighters tilt their torso before they hook to the body. Artur doesn't.
• He turns his hips correctly when he punches. This causes a lot of damage.

 Combine all that and you get a wicked cocktail of power and good timing.

Artur Kyshenko teaching a Masterclass

Here are several videos of Artur Kyshenko teaching a masterclass. Enjoy!

Artur Kyshenko vs. Su Hwan Lee

 Artur Kyshenko vs. Su Hwan Lee

2007-06-2

K-1 World MAX 2007 World Tournament Open

Tokyo, Japan

Fight Analysis:

Kyshenko starts the fight by aggressively moving forward, not letting his opponent get set. He quickly surprises him with a right high kick and then lands a solid left hook to the body which hurts Lee and slows him down.

 Artur smells blood and increases the tempo, landing several shots to the body by setting them up well with punches to the head and leg kicks. After landing another right high kick, he increases the pace even more and Lee has a hard time keeping up.

Near the end of the round, Kyshenko slows down a bit and Lee seems happy for this chance to get his head above water again.

Lee starts the second round by taking some more initiative and Artur seems to let him do so at first. Kyshenko tries a couple power shots before unloading a flurry of straight punches before landing a long left hook that snaps Lee's head to the side and leaves him wobbling. He narrowly avoids the KO when the referee intervenes to give him an 8-count.

Kyshenko takes out the axe and starts chopping, hard. He finishes it off with another long left hook, sending Lee to the canvas and ending the fight.

Strengths:

• Artur shows his typical snappy punches and kicks. A great combination of speed and power.
• He varies his attacks well, making it hard for Lee to anticipate them.
• He doesn't rush blindly when he goes for the KO. He stays cool headed.
  

Weaknesses:

• He walks into several of Lee's punches in the beginning of the first round. Had Lee been a power puncher, he could have been hurt or even KOed.
• He has a tendency to flail and miss with long hooks when he throws power shots. As long as he lands, he's fine but when he misses, he's wide open to counters.
  

Conclusion:

A good fight by a young Kyshenko. He shows a lot of maturity for such a young fighter. Lee is perhaps not the strongest opponent but Artur did a good job and took the fight too his doorstep.