Sengoku: Fourth Battle emanated from Saitama Super Arena last night in Saitama, Japan with the opening round of their lightweight grand prix as well as the return of Takanori Gomi and Frank Trigg to the ring. Below are the results from the event:

Undercard:

• Valentijn Overeem def. Yoshihiki Takahashi via KO (flying knee) at 2:42 of round one
• Moise Rimbon def. Peter Graham via submission (rear naked choke) at :42 of round two
• Yang Dong Yi def. Pawel Nastula via TKO at 2:15 of round two

Lightweight Grand Prix Bouts:

• Mizuto Hirota def. Ryan Schultz via KO (superman punch) at 4:25 of round two
• Kazunori Yokata def. Bojan Kosednar via unanimous decision
• Eiji Mitsuoka def. Rodrigo Damm via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:13 of round one
• Satoru Kitaoka def. Clay French via submission (achilles lock) at :31 of round one

Co-Main Event:

• Frank Trigg def. Makoto Takimoto via unanimous decision

Main Event:

• Takanori Gomi def. Seung Hwan Bang via unanimous decision

San Jose-based MMA promotion Strikeforce issued a press release Thursday evening confirming that it will be debuting in Denver, Colo. at the Broomfield Center on Oct. 3.

The release also announced a middleweight matchup between Frank Trigg and Falaniko Vitale. While Strikeforce has officially announced the matchup, Trigg himself has yet to confirm it.

When contacted by FiveOuncesOfPain.com via e-mail on Wednesday, Trigg said he had not signed with the promotion and that he would not make any decisions about his next fight until after facing Makoto Takimoto at Sengoku 4 on Aug. 2.

According to MMAjunkie.com, Trigg said he plans to compete for Strikeforce on Oct. 3 but that he doesn’t want to sign a contract and fully commit and run the risk of not being able to fight. He indicated that he also wants to remain focused on Takimoto.

The release also confirmed a previously leaked matchup between Duane “Bang” Ludwig and Sammy “The Squeeze” Morgan with welterweights Phil Baroni and Pete Spratt announced to be in action as well.

(Pictured: Justin Eilers)

Update: Cox confirmed to FiveOuncesOfPain.com on Tuesday afternoon that a signed contract was indeed FAX’ed back to EliteXC officials on Monday evening. 

A verbal agreement for Antonio Silva to fight former UFC heavyweight title challenger Justin Eilers during EliteXC’s second-ever CBS telecast on July 26 has been secured.

EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw revealed the news when contacted by FiveOuncesOfPain.com earlier this afternoon.

Five Ounces of Pain later contacted Eilers’ manager, Monte Cox, who indicated that it is their intention to FAX a signed contract to EliteXC officials later today.

It is still uncertain whether the Silva vs. Eilers fight will be for the vacant EliteXC heavyweight title, but Shaw indicated a belt will more than likely be at stake when the two square off.

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