Artur Kyshenko v. Marcus Oberg Set for November 27

K-1 Scandinavia has announced the initial line-up for their November 27 Rumble of the Kings card, and there are a handful of fights worth taking a look at.

Most interesting: a showdown between the #8 ranked Artur Kyshenko and #24 Marcus Oberg.  This would be a good fight at any time, but right now it's of particular interest because of Kyshenko's recent showings.  Two years ago, Kyshenko was ranked #2 in the world, and was considered a favorite to win the MAX Grand Prix after Masato's retirement.  Now, he's struggling to stay in the top 10 and has been knocked out of the GP by the undersized Mo Khamal.  Kyshenko is 1-3 in his last four fights, and has only defeated one top 25 opponent in the last 2 years (a defeat of #5 Murat Direkci in May).  A loss here would be another significant setback, and Oberg definitely has the ability to win this.  A solid Muay Thai competitor, Oberg holds wins over Gago Drago, Dzhabar Askerov, and Faldir Chahbari.  The fight will be at 72.5 kg, which should benefit Kyshenko - a huge middleweight fighter whose struggles to make the MAX limit of 70kg may have played a factor in his recent loses.  Definitely one to watch here as Oberg has the ability to really increase his profile, while Kyshenko is in dire need of a win to right his ship.

The main event is also of interest, but for very different reasons, as everyone's favorite sideshow fighter Bob Sapp takes on top local fighter Jorgen Kruth under MMA rules.  A popular veteran of the European scene, Kruth made the transition to MMA last year and has put together a 3-0 record.  This will be his first opportunity to put a name on his MMA resume.  As for Sapp, what is there to say?  You know what he brings to the table, and you know if you care or not.  For what it's worth, Sapp is actually coming in to this fight off a win, having defeated Sascha Weinpolter in March. 

One last fight of particular interest is an MMA encounter between former UFC fighters, as Per Eklund faces Robert Emerson.  Eklund had a 1-2 run in the UFC in 2008/09, and is probably best known for his TKO loss to Evan Dunham in Dunham's UFC debut at UFC 95 last year.  Emerson is an alum from The Ultimate Fighter who looked poised to make some moves in the UFC Lightweight division back in 2008.  But after a 1-3 run, including a lackluster loss to Nik Lentz, Emerson was unexpectedly cut from the UFC earlier this year.  He's since bounced back with a win on a regional show in September, but this will be his first real test since leaving the UFC.  This is a good one to watch, as Dana White has always shown a willingness to bring back fighters who look good after being cut - a dominating stoppage over Eklund could help Emerson take a big step back towards the UFC. 

Rounding out the card: Dzhabar Askerov v. Pasi Luukanen, Rikard Nordstrand v. Jiri Zak, Magdalena Kowalczyk v. Caroline Ek, Payman Sharokni v. Martin Akhtar, and Ole Laursen v. Joakim Engberg under MMA rules.