It's Showtime Fast and Furious Preview: Artur Kyshenko vs. Gago Drago

Artur Kyshenko and Gago Drago will meet in the opening quarterfinal bout as the It's Showtime Fast and Furious Tournament takes place in Brussels, Beligum on Saturday, September 24th. The bout between Kyshenko and Drago will mark the second time that they have met, as Kyshenko took a dominant win in a March contest between the two, also under the It's Showtime banner.

Despite a history of having less than stellar outings at the most inopportune times, Artur Kyshenko has emerged as one of the top fighters in kickboxing's 70 kg. weight class today. The Ukrainian striker found himself in a tight spot in late 2010, as back-to-back upset losses to Hinata Watanabe and Mohammed Khamal highlighted the 24-year-old as a fighter caught between having the utmost potential and the inability to put it all together. Kyshenko was able to secure a win over Marcus Oberg in late 2010 and has looked much-improved in 2011 as he has settled in at Mike's Gym in Amsterdam. At 2-0 on the year, Kyshenko followed up a wide decision over Gago Drago with an even more impressive dismantling of Nieky Holzken.

On the other side of the coin, Gago Drago has lost each of his last four bouts. He was topped by Yoshihiro Sato in the K-1 World MAX 2010 semifinal round, upset by Yavuz Kayabasi last December, topped by Kyshenko in March, and thoroughly outdone by Abraham Roqueni in June. However much inconsistency one might be inclined to say Artur Kyshenko has shown, that can be stated ten-fold for Drago. After all, the Armenian defeated Pajonsuk to win the Enfusion TV 70 kg. tournament just months before his most recent slide began.

When these two fighters meet on Saturday, it should be Kyshenko's for the taking. As mentioned, he's shown great discipline in developing his skill set since landing at Mike's Gym. The results of that have been troubling for the fight camps who come up against him. Kyshenko has reached a point where he is able to outclass world-ranked type opponents by leaning heavily on devastating body shots. That said, Gago Drago is Gago Drago. Whatever his limitations may be, he has a history of finding ways to win - sometimes.