For all of his shortcomings — and there are many — the one thing that the (12-12) Artem has going for him is absolute sledgehammers for fists. In fact, his entire MMA game is predicated around his striking game. Throwing a variety of punches from myriad angles, he doesn't discriminate between the head and the body and works in tight left hooks, strong uppercuts, and a powerful left-leg kick to the body. Where he gets into trouble though is that he isn't quick and he fights with a karate style open guard which leaves him ripe to get countered. Additionally, it places him off balance and gives his opponent the opportunity to bring The BJJ blue belt to the floor and control position.
An absolutely whirling dervish of fistic fury, Tokyo import and uber confident Teruto Ishihara (9-2-2) smashed his way to the finals of TUF: "Japan," where he ultimately put on a show with salty dog veteran Mizuto Hirota for a split draw. After linking up with Team Alpha Male however the, Japanese based firebrand brutalized Julian Erosa and Horatio Gutierrez in back to back TKO victories. All told, Ishihara has knocked out eight opponents and his technique continues to improve in each subsequent outing. Just 25 years old, Ishihara has a lot of upside and his conditioning and superior wrestling should be enough to get the win Saturday.
For all intents and purposes this is Ishihara's fight to lose. Particularly his speed and power alone should win the day. Moreover, Artem will be all to willing to engage "Yashabo" into the firefight he thrives in. However, you better be careful what you ask for because as pedestrian as he is, Artem's one get-out-of-jail-free card is always going to be his blistering kill shots.
The owner of an abbreviated 66 inch reach, Artem relies on his opponent fighting his game. Ishihara can probably fight on the outside and get a victory, but if past is prologue we will likely see his wild and reckless style which will present Artem the necessary opportunities to catch him being over aggressive. Having not been knocked out in over six years, I do believe Artem's chin can withstand Yashabo's shots though I cannot say the same thing for Ishihara. If Artem is is to land one of his nuclear bombs in the midst of a rock-em' - sock em' robots style of fight, things can come to a halt immediately.
The dilemma with playing Artem SU is his countless liabilities. Specifically he has a porous defense that only exacerbated as the fight wears on. While I believe Ishihara's conditioning will see him through to a clear-cut decision victory, I do believe that this style of fight fight is tailor-made for the hometown fighter.
Therefore, a round one win and/or Artem TKO at +680 and +1075 respectively are potentially nice prop plays or hedges if you are so inclined to put the Japanese gunslinger into a parlay. At -275 at -240 I do believe that Ishihara has value for a parlay piece if he's able to make it outside the first frame.
Lobov elies on his opponent fighting his game. Ishihara can probably fight on the outside and get a victory, but if past is prologue we will likely see his wild and reckless style which will present Artem the necessary opportunities to catch him being over aggressive. Having not been knocked out in over six years, I do believe Artem's chin can withstand Yashabo's shots though I cannot say the same thing for Ishihara. If Artem is is to land one of his nuclear bombs in the midst of a rock-em' - sock em' robots style of fight, things can come to a halt immediately.
The dilemma with playing Artem SU is his countless liabilities. Specifically he has a porous defense that only exacerbated as the fight wears on. While I believe Ishihara's conditioning will see him through to a clear-cut decision victory, I do believe that this style of fight fight is tailor-made for the hometown fighter.
Therefore, a round one win and/or Artem TKO at +680 and +1075 respectively are potentially nice prop plays or hedges if you are so inclined to put the Japanese gunslinger into a parlay. At -240 I do believe that Ishihara has value for a parlay piece if he's able to make it outside the first frame.