Artur Kyshenko v. Hinata Announced for RISE 68

Japan's RISE promotion has announced the main event for their July 31 show, and it is a good one.  Headlining RISE 68 will be the #4 ranked Artur Kyshenko v. #12 Hinata.

Hinata made a name for himself in RISE, holding the company's 70kg title, before making the jump to K-1, so this will be a sort of homecoming for him.  But it's definitely a rough homecoming, as Kyshenko represents the toughest opponent Hinata has yet encountered.  Hinata's last fights were at the MAX Japan GP, where he turned in a career-best performance in his quarter final defeat of former Final 4 fighter Yuya Yamamoto, before being KO'd in the semi-finals by Hiroki Nakajima.  Prior to that, the 24 year old had gone 2-1 in K-1, with wins over Yasuhiro Kido and Mike Zambidis, and a loss to Dzhabar Askerov.

Kyshenko has been sitting on the verge of at the very pinnacle of MAX for the past few years.  He comes in on a four fight win streak, including an exciting win over Murat Direkci for It's Showtime in his last outing.  He should have a significant size and strength advantage here, and has to be considered the heavy favorite over his less experienced opponent.