Known for his tight clinch work, deadly spinning back-kicks and head-hunting high kicks, feared Russian striker, Arthur Guseinov is ready to make his US debut and going head-to-head against Tyson ‘The Anti-Hero’ Jeffries at M-1 Challenge: Bennett vs. Garner. The bouts will be broadcast live on Showtime on Friday, July 8 at 11 pm (ET/PT) from The Hangar in Costa Mesa, Ca.
Guseinov’s lightning-quick striking arsenal is responsible for the majority of his KO/TKO victories, anchoring his hard-earned 7-2 professional record. Although coming off back-to-back losses against Russian submission specialist, Beslan Esaev and staunch American scrapper, Luigi Fioravanti, expect his exciting fighting style to be well received by fans as he brings a high powered offensive directly into Jeffries’ path.
Guseinov returned to the ring of Europe’s leading mixed martial arts promotion in 2010 after being summoned to step in on short notice to face Fioravanti after Shahrijar Abassov was forced to withdraw after suffering a late training injury. Even with injuries a part of the daily grind in the sport, being called upon as a replacement fighter in the time of need is what differentiates one’s fighting spirit; the talented striker with a formidable karate background gave his all in a dramatic back and forth affair that captured the cards Fight of the Night top-honour, losing via RNC submission in the overtime round.
Since making his professional debut in October 2005, the crafty technician has ended all his bouts in the first round except for one; the lone decision victory came against newly crowned Middleweight Champion, Magomed “The White Wolf” Sultanakhmedov in the opening round of the 2009 M-1 Selection European tournament.
Considered a small middleweight, Guseinov will have to rely on his striking arsenal and open the bout with a blitzkrieg attack to overwhelm Jeffries; the punishment needs to come fast and unrelenting as The Anti-Hero has proven to possess an iron chin and an unbreakable will.
Holding a coveted win over Sultanakhmedov, the ‘what-if’ implications of a Guseinov win can be hashed out from every angle but ultimately Guseinov is only concerned with standing victorious on July 8th; but in this case, it’s easy to predict the matchmaker’s plan of sliding Guseinov into a future title bout.
