October 25-31
All Times Eastern

Monday (10/25)

WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan (Replay) on VS. at 12am
MMA:30 (Replay) on MAVTV at 5am
MMA:30 (Replay) on MAVTV at 10am
MMA:30 (Replay) on MAVTV at 3pm
WEC 50: Cruz vs. Benavidez 2 (Replay) on VS. at 5pm
UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs. Neer (Replay) on SpikeTV at 7pm

Tuesday (10/26)

WEC 43: Cerrone vs. Henderson (Replay) on VS. at 12am
DREAM 16 (Replay) on HDNet at 4:30am
Strikeforce Challengers: Bowling vs. Voelker 2 (Replay) on Showtime2 at 10pm

Wednesday (10/27)

The Ultimate Fighter 9 Marathon (Replay) on SpikeTV 3-6pm
UFC Unleashed: Sylvia vs. Rodriguez (Replay) on SpikeTV at 7pm
UFC Unleashed: Liddell vs. Sobral 2 (Replay) on SpikeTV at 8pm
MMA:30 (Replay) on MAVTV at 8:30pm
Ultimate Combat Experience (Replay) on MAVTV at 9pm
UFC Unleashed (Premiere) on SpikeTV at 9pm
The Ultimate Fighter 12: Episode 7 (Premiere) on SpikeTV at 10pm
MMA H.E.A.T. (Replay) on MAVTV at 10pm

Thursday (10/28)

The Ultimate Fighter 12: Episode 7 (Replay) on SpikeTV at 12am
UFC Unleashed (Replay) on SpikeTV at 1am
MMA:30 (Replay) on MAVTV at 2:30am
Ultimate Combat Experience (Replay) on MAVTV at 3am
MMA H.E.A.T. (Replay) on MAVTV at 4am
WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan (Replay) on VS. at 8pm
Bellator 34 (Live Event/Premiere) on Fox Sports Net. Check Local Listings
WEC Greatest Knockouts (Replay) on VS. at 10pm

Friday (10/29)

WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan (Replay) on VS. at 12am
MMA Live (Premiere) on ESPN2 at 12:30am
Sengoku 14 (Replay) on HDNet at 4:30am
MMA H.E.A.T. (Replay) on MAVTV at 10:30am
MMA H.E.A.T. (Replay) on MAVTV at 3:30pm
Fight Vault: Best of DREAM 10 (Replay) on HDNet at 8pm
Fighting Words: Matt Lindland (Premiere) on HDNet at 8:30pm
Inside MMA (Premiere) on HDNet at 9pm
United Glory: First Round (Live Event) on HDNet at 10pm

Saturday (10/30)

Sengoku 15 (Live Event) on HDNet at 2am
Ultimate Combat Experience (Replay) on MAVTV at 1pm
WEC Greatest Knockouts (Replay) on VS. at 2pm
Ultimate Combat Experience (Replay) on MAVTV at 6pm
Inside MMA (Replay) on HDNet at 6pm

Sunday (10/31)

Bellator Highlights (Premiere) on NBC at 3am
Freak Show: Halloween Special (Replay) on HDNet at 4:30am
MMA:30 (Replay) on MAVTV at 11pm

*Bellator 34 replays from Thursday to Sunday on Fox Sports Net. Check your local listings.

*You can order the UFC 121 replay all week on certain PPV providers.

The finish came with less than a minute left in the final round when Santiago put the “Grabaka Hitman” on the mat with a knee, then eventually took his back and rained down enough punches to merit a stoppage from Misaki’s corner. The win was Santiago’s eleventh in twelve fights since parting ways with the UFC in late 2006 and his second successful defense of the SRC Middleweight Championship.

SRC 14 also provided a night of disappointment for fans of Akihiro Gono. Gono, who had won three fights in a row prior to his bout against underdog Jadamba Narantungalag, was out-pointed and lost a unanimous decision. The win brought Narantungalag’s record to 3-2 and came after more than yearlong layoff from the sport.

A full list of results for SRC 14 can be found below:

Jae Hyun So def. Hirokazu Nisimura via Unanimous Decision
Wataru Takahashi def. Tatsuya So via Submission Round 2 (Rear-Naked Choke)
Shoko Sato def. Takuya Eizumi via TKO Round 2 (Doctor Stoppage)
Shintaro Ishiwatari def. Kil Woo Lee via Submission Round 1 (Guillotine Choke)
Takuya Sato def. Motoki Miyazawa via Unanimous Decision
Yasubey Enomoto def. Kenta Takagi via Submission Round 2 (Bulldog Choke)
Taisuke Okuno def. Nick Thompson via KO Round 3
Leonardo Santos def. Sotaro Yamada via DQ Round 1 (Knees to Groin)
Hatsu Hioki def. Jeff Lawson via Submission Round 1 (Triangle Choke)
Jadamba Narantungalag def. Akihiro Gono via Unanimous Decision
Jorge Santiago def. Kazuo Misaki via TKO Round 5 (Corner Stoppage)

Michihiro Omigawa was able to edge out Hatsu Hioki in a closely contested featherweight showdown while Jorge Santiago and Kevin Randleman both suffered defeat, and Dave “Pee Wee” Herman came away with yet another knockout victory.

Below is a full list of the event results from “Sengoku 11th Battle”:

Michihiro Omigawa def. Hatsu Hioki via split decision

Mamed Khalidov def. Jorge Santiago via TKO – Round 1

Jorge Masvidal def. Satoru Kitaoka via knockout – Round 2

Tomoaki Ueyama def. Hirokazu “Bull” Konno via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1

Kazunori Yokota def. Eiji Mitsuaoka via unanimous decision

Stanislov Nedkov def. Kevin Randleman via split decision

Akihiro Gono def. Yoon Young Kim via unanimous decision

Marlon Sandro def. Yuji Hoshino via knockout – Round 1

Dave Herman def. Jim York via knockout – Round 1

Ronnie Mann def. Shigeki Osawa via unanimous decision

Ryota Uozomi def. Yuichiro Yajima via submission (armbar) – Round 1

While a few favorites found their hands raised at the end of things, the event was not without its share of upsets too.

Below is a full list of results from the event:

Jay Hyun So def. Ryosuke Komori – Judges’ Decision

Shigeki Osawa def. Ki Hyun Kim – Judges’ Decision

Ikuo Usuda def. Woo Hyon Baek – TKO – RD 1

Maximo Blanco def. Tetsuya Yamada – TKO – RD 2

Joe Doerksen def. Takenori Sato – TKO – RD 2

Dan Hornbuckle def. Nick Thompson – TKO – RD 2

Fabio Silva def. Ryo Kawamura – TKO (Corner Stoppage) – RD 1

Kazunori Yokota def. Ryan Schultz – KO – RD 1

Makoto Takimoto def. Jaw Sun lee – Judges’ Decision

Antonio Silva def. Jim York – Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) – RD 1

Antz Nansen def. Hiroshi Izumi – TKO – RD 1

Sengoku 10

You can catch the live broadcast of the event on HDNet, starting at 3 am ET (midnight tonight PT).

2004 Olympic Judo silver medalist Hiroshi Izumi will be making his professional fighting debut as he faces off with New Zealand kickboxing champion Antz Nansen.

Also on the card will be bouts featuring the likes of Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, Ryan “The Lion” Schultz, Dan Hornbuckle, Nick Thompson and Joe Doerkson.

Below is a full list of the line-up and weight in results for Sengoku 10:

Hiroshi Izumi (205) vs. Antz Nansen (204.2)
Antonio Silva (267) vs.  Jim York (253.1)
Makoto Takimoto (166) vs. Jae Sun Lee (167.6)
Ryan Schultz (153.2) vs. Kazunori Yokota (153.9)
Ryo Kawamura (203.7) vs. Fabio Silva (202)
Dan Hornbuckle (165.13) vs. Nick Thompson (167.3)
Takenori Sato (183) vs. Joe Doerksen (182.3)
Maximo Blanco (154.3) vs. Tetsuya Yamada (154.1)

From both the perspective of fans and bookies, more than one favorite fell at Sengoku “Ninth Battle”, and some did so in devastating fashion.

The promotion’s featherweight grand prix was unfortunately marred by both injury and controversy, as tournament favorite Marlon Sandro inexplicably lost via decision to local favorite Michihiro Omigawa after two of the three ringside officials scored the bout a draw with the third giving a nod to Sandro.

In the other semi-final fight, 20-3 Hatsu Hioki continued his recent string of success (7-0-1 in his previous eight scraps) by unanimously out-pointing Masanori Kanehara but was unable to compete in the championship bout after doctors’ concerns came into play regarding the damage he’d taken in the three-round battle. Eventually, as if fate would have it any other way, Kanehara took home the gold via split decision victory meaning the route involved him first falling in defeat, then beating an opponent who also essentially lost his earlier fight.

It was a difficult night for affable PRIDE icons as well with Kazuyuki “Ironhead” Fujita losing a tough three round decision to the man that handed Fedor Emelianenko his first Combat Sambo loss in years,  Blagoi Ivanov. The “L” drops the 38-year old Fujita to 15-8 with three losses in his last four matches, while Ivanov may have been happy to see the fight come to conclusion after his last appearance involved a “No Contest” result due to the ring breaking.

In a scary moment for all involved, Akihiro Gono left the ring on a stretcher after ducking into a brutal headkick from Dan Hornbuckle in the third round. Fortunately, it was later reported Gono was in a hospital, but fine, after suffering a concussion and some damage to his neck. Hornbuckle should receive more attention from fans, promoters, and media types by moving to 16-1 in his last seventeen fights.

In two of the night’s biggest showdowns, Kazuhiro Nakamura was left questioning his immediate future, as the 30-year old dropped to 2-5 in his last seven fights after being locked into a tight Guillotine Choke three minutes into his match-up with “The Grabaka Hitman”, Kazuo Misaki.

Additionally, WVR Lightweight Champion Satoru Kitaoka defended his title for the first and last time against rising striker Mizuto Hirota. After three close rounds, Hirota was able to stuff a number of the champion’s takedown attempts and punish him with knees in the process eventually forcing the referee to stop action and rule in his favor.

Here is a quick rundown of the night’s action…

Ryosuke Komori def. Takeshi Numajiri – TKO – RD 1

Shigeki Osawa def. Toru Harai TKO – RD 1

Ikuo Usuda def. Koji Ando – Judges’ Decision (Unanimous)

Yoshihiro Nakao def. Mu Bae Choi – Judges’ Decision (Unanimous)

Chan Sung Jung def. Matt Jaggers – Submission – RD 2

Eiji Mitsuoka def. Clay French – Submission – RD 1

Dan Hornbuckle def. Akihiro Gono – KO – RD 3

Blagoi Ivanov def. Kazuyuki Fujita – Judges’ Decision (Split)

Kazuo Misaki def. Kazuhiro Nakamura – Submission – RD 1

WVR Featherweight Grand Prix:

Hatsu Hioki def. Masanori Kanehara – Judges’ Decision (Unanimous)

Michihiro Omigawa def. Marlon Sandro – Judges’ Decision (Split)

Masanori Kanehara def. Michihiro Omigawa – Judges’ Decision (Split)

WVR Lightweight Championship:

Mizuto Hirota def. Satoru Kitaoka – TKO – RD 4

A heavyweight match-up between Yoshihiro “Kiss” Nakao and Choi Mu Bae, and a lightweight showdown involving Eiji Mitsuoka and Clay French mark the sixth and seventh bouts announced fr the card.

Sengoku Ninth Battle is set to take place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on August 2.

Also announced for the event is a lightweight championship bout between Sengoku champion Satoru Kitaoka and Mizuto Hirota, a heavyweight clash between Kazuyuki Fujita and Blagoy Ivanov, and the conclusion of Sengoku’s featherweight tournament.

A full list of the bouts expected for the event are listed below:

Sengoku Featherweight Grand Prix Finale

Masanoru Kanehara vs. Marlon Sandro (FW GP)

Hatsu Hioki vs. Michihiro Omigawa (FW GP)

Mizuto Hirota vs. Satoru Kitaoka (Lightweight Championship)

Kazuo Misaki vs. Kazuhiko Nakamura

Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Blagoy Alexandre Ivanov

Choi Mu Bae vs. Yoshihiro Nakao

Clay French vs. Eiji Mitsuoka

The event has been scheduled for August 2 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Ivanov will be facing off with Kazuyuki Fujita in a heavyweight clash while no opponent has been set for Gono as of yet. Also announced for the card is Eiji Mitsuoka who’s opponent has yet to be determined as well.

Ivanov will be making his highly anticipated mixed martial arts debut after becoming famous as the man that defeated Fedor Emelianenko at the Combat Sambo World Championship’s of 2008. His opponent Fujita is no stranger to “The Last Emperor” himself, having suffered a submission loss to Emelianenko at Pride 26 in June of 2003.

Gono will be making his first return to action since being released by the UFC in January. Back to back decision defeats to Dan Hardy and Jon Fitch brought upon the departure for the Pancrase and PRIDE veteran.

Mitsuoka has gone 3-1 with Sengoku where he most recently submitted Sergey Golyaev with an armbar in the first round at Sengoku: No Ran 2009 on January 4.

The initial report of the news was made public by Tatame.com after being revealed by tournament participant Marlon Sandro. Sandro had told the news outlet that he would be facing Michihiro Omigawa in his semifinal bout. This leaves the remaining participants, Hatsu Hioki and Michihiro Omigawa, to square off in the second semifinal match.

Sandro brings an undefeated (14-0) record into his bout with Omigawa. He most recently defeated Matt Jaggers with an impressive standing arm triangle choke at “Sengoku Seventh Battle” to advance in the featherweight grand prix. At “Sengoku Eigth Battle,” Sandro continued his streak with a 19-second KO of Nick Denis.

Omigawa, despite his deceiving losing record (6-7-1), earned his spot in the semifinals with a TKO and Unanimous Decision wins over Nam Pham and L.C. Davis, respectively.

Hioki is currently riding a four fight winning streak– all by TKO and submission stoppage. Hioki submitted Ronnie Mann and Chris Manuel to advance in the tournament. His opponent, Kanehara, is coming off of two Unanimous Decision wins over Chan Sung Jung and Jong Man Kim.

The event will also include several non-tournament bouts. Sengoku lightweight champion Satoru Kitaoka has also been officially announced to take on an undisclosed opponent. Kitaoka most recently defeated former top-ranked lightweight Takanori Gomi in a January title bout.

Maximo Blanco vs. Akihiko Mori

In a bout that I don’t believe made air, Sengoku Training Player/Yoshida Dojo prodigy Shigeki Osawa took a decision win over Kota Ibishi, at least in part because Ibishi was given a yellow card for stalling. The rules played an even larger role in determining the victor in his training partner “MAXI” Blanco’s fight. Blanco used his tremendous power and aggression to take the fight to Mori, escaping an early armbar attempt and dealing out punishing strikes. A little past the four-minute mark, Blanco landed a right hook that dropped Mori, but foolishly followed up with a soccer kick to the Japanese fighter’s face that forced the referee to immediately disqualify the Venezuelan wrestler. Mori, laying unconscious on the canvas, was declared the victor.

Travis Wiuff vs. Stanislav Nedkov

The strangeness definitely continued through the first round of this fight, which saw the Bulgarian BJJ Black Belt Nedkov nail former YAMMA Pit Fighting champion with three separate knees straight to the groin in the early going. Understandably, this had the effect of slowing both the fight and the American powerhouse right down. In spite of clearly fighting much of the first two rounds in mortal agony, Wiuff was ahead on the judges cards going into the final frame. Nedkov, however, managed to knock Wiuff down with a hard right hand about half a minute into the third. After that, he pounced on the American and pounded him until the referee called a stop to the bout.

Makoto Takimoto vs. Michael Costa

Costa and his crew come out in “Jesus is my coach” T-shirts. Impressively, Costa seems to have taken the following advice from the Sermon on the Mount very much to heart: “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” So, when Costa managed to escape Takimoto’s early arm-bar attempt, he very generously offered up his leg to the judo gold medalist. With Shamrock-like grace, Takimoto locked on an inverted heel hook, which he released in order to switch to a regular heel hook. Just as Bas was admonishing Takimoto for making that mistake, Costa tapped out. In a very classy move Takimoto politely accepted Costa’s offered gift of a copy of the Bible after the fight. With this win, the champion judoka has raised his pro MMA record to 5 -5.

Marlon Sandro vs. Nick Denis

This was meant to be one those classic battles between an experienced grappler (Sandro) and a powerful striker (Denis). Sandro demolished expectations, however, by immediately crushing Denis with a lead right uppercut that knocked the Canadian “Ninja of Love” completely out.

Chan Sung Jung vs. Masanori Kanehara

The evening’s second featherweight grand prix bout was a very closely fought and wildly exciting fight, and an early contender for 2009’s best fight of the year. In the first round, both fighters demonstrated that they had the skills and strength to match up with the other both standing and on the ground. The pace picked up considerably in the second, as the fighters engaged in a wild slugfest before taking it to the ground and exchanging submission attempts and escapes. Kanehara almost managed to give us a second heel hook finish on the night, but Jung managed to fight him off until the bell sounded. Jung battled furiously throughout the third but was unable to put Kanehara away. A slight advantage on the judges’ scorecards in the early rounds was enough to give Kanehara the right to advance to the tournament’s third round.

Alexandre Ribeiro vs. Keiichiro Yamamiya

It was great to see that Yamamiya is still active in the world of pro fighting. He was one of the guys who paved the way for Japanese MMA, fighting for Pancrase in the mid-1990s. This was the Grabaka fighter’s sixty-eighth pro fight, and by stark contrast it was Ribeiro’s second. The BJJ world champion was simply too much for the veteran to handle, though. Ribeiro dominated the fight, taking Yamamiya down and improving position more or less at will, and without ever seeming to fully exert himself. After toying with the veteran fighter for two rounds, Ribeiro caught him with a right hook less than a minute into the third, putting an end to the fight.

Leonardo Santos vs. Kazunori Yokota

This was a very hard-fought back and forth battle between two evenly matched fighters. Yokota, the former DEEP lightweight champion, used his strength, balance, and positioning to counter Santos’ speed and superior length. Although both men attempted and escaped multiple submissions, Santos spent the majority of the fight on his back and so it came as no surprise when the Japanese fighter was awarded a close spit decision.

Nam Phan vs. Michihiro Omigawa

Omigawa earned his second consecutive upset victory to continue his surprising run in the featherweight grand prix. Unlike his previous carefully fought decision win, Omigawa really brought it to Phan in this fight, going full out from the opening bell and not stopping until the referee called an end to it very late in the first round. Bas, and others, might have thought it was an early stoppage, but Phan seemed to take the referee’s call in stride. Other than an early heel hook attempt, the likeable California native had been on the defensive throughout the round.

Hatsu Hioki vs. Ronnie Mann

Hioki finished off the evening by advancing to the third round of the tournament in dominating fashion. He applied the kind of constant pressure and rapid transitions that brought to mind the early career of Genki Sudo, taking Mann down, advancing his position, and locking on a beautiful triangle choke that he reinforced by raining blows on his opponent’s trapped head. It brought a very impressive end to an entertaining evening of fights.

I eagerly anticipate more of the same at Sengoku Ninth Battle in August.

Outside of the four bouts scheduled for the second round of the Sengoku Featherweight Grand Prix, the event will feature a total of seven other non-tournament bouts and will take place at the National Yoyogi Stadium in Tokyo, Japan.

Sengoku Eighth Battle will be airing live on HDNet tonight at 12 p.m. Pacific Time, or an ultra-late 3 a.m. for all of you eastern time zone diehards.

The weigh-in results for the event are listed below:

Featherweight Grand Prix Second Round

Hatsu Hioki (143.3lbs) vs. Ronnie Mann (142.6lbs)

Michihiro Omigawa (142.6lbs) vs. Nam Phan (142.9lbs)

Masanoru Kanehara (142.9lbs) vs. Chan Sung Jung (143.3lbs)

Marlon Sandro (143.1lbs) vs. Nick Denis (142.4lbs)

Non-Tournament Bouts

Leonardo Santos (154.1lbs) vs. Kazunori Yokota (154.1lbs)

Maximo Blanco (154.1lbs) vs. Akihiko Mouri (154.1lbs)

Alexandre “Xande” Ribeiro (203.5lbs) vs. Keiichiro Yamamiya (202.8lbs)

Stanislav Nedkov (202.6lbs) vs. Travis Wiuff (204.8lbs)

Michael Costa (167.3lbs.) vs. Makoto Takimoto (166.2lbs)

Kota Ishibashi (147.7lbs) vs. Shigeki Osawa (147.7lbs)

Featherweight Grandprix Second Round Bouts:

Ronnie Mann vs. Hatsu Hioki

The Main Event of the evening pits Hioki, a 143-pound former Shooto contender against a Cage Rage vet who has never been submitted or knocked out in eighteen professional fights. Hioki has twice beaten Mark Hominick, the first time by choking him out to take the TKO featherweight title, and the second by decision in a fight where the fighters mostly stayed on their feet. Hioki advanced to the second round by convincingly beating the American Top Team’s Chris Manuel on the ground with a first-round triangle arm bar. Mann made the second round by earning a close decision victory over young ZST fighter Tetsuya Yamada at Seventh Battle.

Michihiro Omigawa vs. Nam Phan

Phan is probably best known in America for getting crushed by “JZ Calvan” at Dynamite! USA, but he has fought very well since that loss, including an impressive right hook knockout of Hideki Kadowaki in the tournament’s first round. Omigawa is a judo champion who scored a carefully-fought upset over IFL and Affliction vet L.C. Davis to advance to the second round. The decision win was Omigawa’s first victory since losing to Matt Wiman at UFC 76.

Chan Sung Jung vs. Masanori Kanehara

The undefeated “Korean Zombie” claimed the most exciting victory at Seventh Battle, going toe to toe with Shintaro Ishiwatari before knocking him down, taking his back, and choking him out. Kanehara, who has competed for ZST, DEEP, Shooto, and Pancrase, took a smartly fought but unexciting victory over Jung’s CMA Korea teammate Jong Man Kim in the first round of the grand prix. Hilariously, Kanehara promoted this fight by sparring with a guy dressed as a zombie at his open training session in Tokyo on April 22nd.

Nick Denis vs. Marlon Sandro

This will be a battle between two undefeated pro fighters. Both men looked very impressive in their first round victories. The Canadian fighter, nicknamed “The Ninja of Love” put a solid beating on former Pancrase rising star Seiya Kawahara and forced the referee to call a stop to the bout at 2:36 of the first. The Brazilian Sandro finished American Matt Jaggers in spectacular fashion, choking him old cold with an arm triangle while both fighters were standing.

The rest of the bouts scheduled for the card are listed below:

Stanislav Nedkov vs. Travis Wiuff
Leonardo Santos vs. Kazunori Yokota
Alexandre Ribeiro vs. Keiichiro Yamamiya
Michael Costa vs. Makoto Takimoto
Akihiko Mori vs. Maximo Blanco
Shigeki Osawa vs. Kota Ishibashi
Hirotoshi Saito vs. Yoshitaka Abe

Next month starts out with a bang. UFC Fight Night 18 has a lot of potential to be an exciting card which leads off the month, followed by the inaugural Bellator Fighting Championships on the 3rd, WEC 40 and Dream 8 on the 5th, and of course we have Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz on the 11th.

However, all one has to do is look a little closer on their MMA calender to see that there is plenty of action to catch before the end of the month with some extremely intriguing match ups.

Sengoku: Seventh Battle
March 20th

Ryo Kawamura vs. Muhammed Lawal

King Mo is without a doubt one of the sports fastest rising prospects. Who makes their mixed martial arts debut against a veteran of over sixty fights that is currently riding a nine fight win streak? That’s exactly what Muhammed Lawal did when he stopped Travis Wiuff in his tracks in the opening round of their bout at Sengoku V. He has since gone on to fight at every following Sengoku event with the end result always being the same, stoppage victories over much more experienced competition. Lawal was a former Division I all-American wrestler for Oklahoma State and has only been training in mixed martial arts for five months. His potential is simply jaw dropping.

Kawamura, at 9-3-2, has spent most of his time with Pancrase and has split his last two fights. He dropped a decision to Kevin Randleman at Sengoku II but most recently rebounded with a decision victory over the ridiculously experienced Keiichiro Yamamiya at Pancrase: Shining 8.

A tough test for most fighters with only three bouts under their belts but King Mo is not most fighters. Expect for Mo to look impressive with a stoppage victory as usual and definitely look for him to have one of the most flamboyant ring entrances in the business.

I wish I could fast forward two years to see where King Mo has gone in mixed martial arts. Keep your eyes on him, he’s one to watch.

Hatsu Hioki vs. Chris Manuel

Hioki is generally viewed as one of the top ten featherweights in the business and I will expect for him to be a slight favorite in this one. However, I can’t tell you how many good things I have heard about Manuel. He’s a jiu-jitsu instructor at the prestigious American Top Team in Florida that has gone undefeated in eight professional bouts. If the hype coming out of ATT about Manuel is true I would give him a really good chance at pulling off the upset on his way to establishing himself amongst the top in the division.

Prospects

This card is really stacked with fighters that have a lot of potential to make waves in MMA in the future. Some of the rising stars worth keeping an eye on are as follows.

Marlon Sandro: I’d be lying if I said that I have studied an abundance of tape on Sandro, but with a record of 12-0 fighting in organizations such as Shooto and Pancrase, he definitely deserves mentioning. The only thing with Sandro is, seven of his twelve victories have come by decision and being that he will be facing off with the extremely capable Matt Jaggers, I don’t foresee a stoppage in this one.

L.C. Davis: The IFL and Affliction veteran has all the early makings of a future champion. At 13-1, Davis has finished eleven of his twelve victims and perhaps most impressively, he has split his stoppages in half between submissions and knockouts. I’m not going to say anything bad about his opponent, Michihiro Omigawa, but I will say this, if they are laying any kind of odds on this bout, bet your house on Davis. You can thank me later.

Ronnie Mann: At 16-1-1, with ten submission victories, Mann is another guy to keep your eye on at Sengoku VII. He has done most of his fighting in Britain for the Cage Rage and Cage Gladiators promotions and is set to face off with Tetsuya Yamada, who holds a record of 3-0.

Nick Denis: His opponent, Seya Kawahara, has a record of 6-1, but you know what, Kawahara doesn’t have a super awesome nickname like “Ninja of Love” either. Come on, fighting out of KOTC with a record of 6-0 with five knockouts and one submission and a nickname like that, Denis has to have the goods. The “Ninja of Love”, one to watch.

Extreme Beatdown: Hinkle vs. Tuchscherer
March 21st

Branden Lee Hinkle vs. Chris Tuchscherer

This one is for the hardcores. Lee Hinkle hasn’t fought in about a year and a half but he made sure to take a vacation on a good note. The Hammer House fighter defeated Roman Zentsov by decision in his lasting outing. Zentsov was riding a seven fight win streak at the time of the loss to Lee Hinkle.

Standing across from him will be Tuchsherer, who holds a record 15-1 and weighs in at a massive 265 pounds. Most notably, Tuchscherer trains out of Minnesota Martial Arts Academy and is a full time training partner to UFC heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar.

March Badness
March 21st

Bobby Lashley vs. Jason Guida

Lashley is one of those guys that it just doesn’t matter who he fights, he’s going to draw a ton of interest. Simply put, the guy is an absolute monster. For those of you that didn’t get the pleasure of catching Lashley in his debut, the man is flat out physically intimidating. There’s no other way to describe it. Standing at 6′ 3″ and weighing around 260 pounds of solid rock, his wrestling background and eagerness to showcase his stand up skills he has picked up from training at ATT make Lashley the one to watch in MMA right now. Flat out, Lashley is the hottest prospect in mixed martial arts today.

Guida is a great opponent for Lashley at this point in his career. He has a ton of experience but isn’t really spectacular in any one area. Hopefully Guida can give Lashley the workout that I know he wants but he won’t be able to. Lashley by whatever he wants, whenever he wants in this one. Not a doubt in my mind.

Jeff Monson vs. Roy Nelson

This fight just doesn’t seem to be getting nearly enough press these days. Both men are extremely dangerous and highly capable fighters with well versed ground games. The difference in this bout should be the stand up, where Nelson will hold a tremendous advantage. Nelson should have the ability to prevent Monson from taking him down and I know for a fact that he will be looking for the knockout. This fight could spell fireworks or it could be a complete snooze fest. It’s one of those. I’m guessing it’s a good old fashioned heavyweight barn burner with Nelson progressing onto bigger and better things in the future.

Some other random fights that deserve mentioning

If everything goes according to plan it’s looking like we could have the return of the Ronin at the inaugural Warrior MMA card. Carlos Newton is slated to return to action after a year and a half hiatus from the game when he faces off with Nabil Khatib on March 28th from Quebec.

Also on March 28th we have M-1 Challenge 13 that will be taking place in Bourgas, Bulgaria. M-1 always puts on great cards and continues to showcase how there is an abundance of talent in MMA located all over the globe. Good fights between good fighters, consistently. A lot of fighters with names that are hard to pronounce but Fedor Emelianenko was pretty hard for me to pronounce a few years back as well.

I know “JT Money” has his share of haters out there but his bout against Chris Camozzi at King of Champions: Shockwave 2009, also on March 28th, is worth noting. Since losing his first and only fight with the UFC to CB Dollaway by way of nasty Peruvian Necktie, Jesse Taylor has racked up three wins with three stoppages in his last three bouts. Most notably, Taylor stopped UFC veteran Drew Fickett by TKO when the two met up last October.

According to MMA Weekly, PRIDE and EliteXC heavyweight veteran James Thompson is set to square off against Mike York. The bout joins the previously announced light heavyweight fight between Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal and Ryo Kawamura.

Additionally, 15 of the 16 competitors set to participate in the first round of Sengoku’s featherweight tournament have now been confirmed to FiveOuncesOfPain.com.

The confirmed field consists of:

1.  L.C. Davis
2.  Shintaro Ishiwatari
3.  Hideki Kadowaki
4.  Matt Jaggers
5.  Michihiro Omigawa
6.  Hatsu Hioki
7.  Seiya Kawahara
8.  Masanori Kanehara
9.  Tetsuya Yamada
10.  Chang Son Jon
11.  Chris Manuel
12.  Nick Denis
13.  Marlon Sandro
14.  Ronnie Mann
15.  Nam Phan

Sengoku’s “Seventh Battle” is set air for the first time ever in the United States as part of a new multi-fight agreement with Mark Cuban’s HDNet.

The announcement that the Japan-based Sengoku will be airing as a part of the high definition cable network’s “HDNet Fights” franchise was made by Kenny Rice during Friday night’s edition of “Inside MMA.”

The broadcast deal between HDNet and Sengoku will commence with March 8′s Sengoku 8 event. It was not announced whether the event will be televised on a live or tape-delay basis.

Sengoku 8 will feature the first round of the promotion’s eight-man, single elimination featherweight tournament. Announced participants include Hatsu Hioki, Marlon Sandro, Chris Manuel, Nick Denis, Ronnie Mann, Masanori Kanehara, Tetsuya Yamada, and Chang Son Jon. The event is also expected to feature a non-tournament bout between light heavyweight sensation Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal and Ryo Kawamura.

The acquisition of Sengoku’s U.S. television rights enhances HDNet’s current combat sports offering that already includes the broadcast rights to the FEG-owned DREAM and K-1 promotions. The network also recently announced deals with the cult favorite Ring of Honor pro wrestling promotion and the Xtreme Fighting Championships, a Tampa-based MMA promotion.

Since its creation, the company has received a fair amount of criticism for bypassing deserving contenders in favor of protected superstars, having a controversial finish or two, and embracing competitors who have previously tested positive for performance enhancing drugs in the United States. However, as point-on as many of those verbal darts have been, it should also be said that WVR has also delivered memorable match-ups, jaw-dropping upsets, and the elevation of a few young mixed martial artists’ careers.

“Seventh Battle” was a fun card from top to bottom, featuring a number of entertaining fights and giving fans of Mixed Martial Arts a chance to see a handful of future superstars attempt to continue their ascension up the ranks and live up to the potential attached to their names. One such individual seeing action at the event was Dave “Pee-Wee” Herman. Entering “Sengoku VII”, the colorful Heavyweight was undefeated with a 13-for-13 fight/finish ratio. He appeared ready to start the new year out on the right note by facing 38-year old PRIDE veteran Mu Bae Choi, a favorite in his native Korea with career wins over both the infamous Gary Goodridge and “Giant” Silva and, as MMA enthusiasts familiar with his trademark disco-posing can attest to, a few slick dance-moves in his arsenal as well. It seemed Choi would be lucky to “stay alive” against Herman, who was labeled as a clear favorite going into the match-up based on his advantages pertaining to size, athleticism, youth, and the overall promise he’d shown prior to the contest. However, as is so often the case in Mixed Martial Arts, the betting lines were not necessarily indicative of the fight’s outcome.

Herman and Mu Bae Choi both showed a tremendous amount of heart in their clash. “Pee-Wee” clearly had the striking advantage, even dropping Choi early in the first round, but the Korean (who is known for his wrestling) was able to win most of the grappling exchanges and took the 240-pounder down on more than one occasion. The determining factor in the fight was primarily the size of each man’s gas tank. Both exerted a great deal more energy in the first round than is typically the case in most Heavyweight bouts and were quickly running on fumes as the second frame unfolded. Herman’s hands dropped and Choi made him pay the price for it with a series of moderately sharp rights that eventually left the American hunched over one of the ring-ropes. The two may not have painted a technical masterpiece between the ropes but their clash was absolutely an entertaining one – a Jackson Pollack if you will.

Given his showing up until the point of exhaustion, Dave Herman should rebound quite easily from the loss, and he will hopefully use the defeat as a learning experience pertaining to the importance of pacing and cardio in general. Then again, “Pee-Wee” doesn’t need the advice espoused in these pages. He’s a loner… a rebel.

Not to be outdone by Mu Bae Choi’s twinkling toes, another fighter possibly auditioning for a future season of “Dancing with the Stars” cut the canvas at “Seventh Battle” and found success along the way. Thus far, Mo Lawal‘s transition from amateur wrestling to mixed martial arts has been as smooth as the top of his noggin’. His opponent, Yukiya Naito, was only able to land some timid leg kicks before succumbing to the former Oklahoma State Cowboy standout’s stand-up.

Another win in the Sengoku ring ran Lawal’s professional win streak to 3-0 with three TKOs against vastly more experienced opponents. His showmanship, coupled with his grappling base, are reminiscent of Quinton Jackson‘s emergence in PRIDE. If “King” Mo is able to continue learning the finer points of MMA, especially in regards to jiu jitsu, and tighten up his striking, there is no reason his reign shouldn’t one day extend over the Octagon. Given his world-class wrestling history, his apparent interest in soaking up as much information as he can alongside respected competitors like Dan Henderson, Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Dean Lister, Vitor Belfort, and Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, and the skills he’s exhibited thus far, it appears as though Lawal shouldn’t be relinquishing his crown anytime soon.

In proper World Victory Road fashion, Antonio Silva made a controversial appearance on the card while suspended by the California State Athletic Commission for submitting a dirty urine sample (Boldenone) last August. While the ATT heavyweight called foul on the lab’s testing, stating steroid use would potentially be fatal for someone with a medical condition he has, his appeal fell on deaf ears and forced him to choose between sitting on the sidelines for a year or risking the possibility of a lifetime ban in the States by fighting overseas. He chose to do the latter, eliciting both disappointment from those feeling Silva wasn’t being accountable for his actions and support from people compassionate towards the financial plight of fighters.

Regardless of which side of the fence you’re on in the debate, the favorable opinion on the 300-pound Brazilian’s talent and upside is generally one of a consensus nature. “Bigfoot” is incredibly strong and extremely athletic for someone of his physical stature. He has the mass of Brock Lesnar complimented with crisp, diverse striking and surprisingly good submission skills.

Both characteristics of Silva’s game were on display against Yoshihrio Nakao under the WVR banner though neither were responsible for his eventual win. Nakao circled throughout the bulk of the fight, preventing Silva from working in more than a handful of punches and knees. At one point Antonio was able to stuff a desperation single-leg takedown attempt from Heath Herring’s least-favorite opponent, the result of a well-placed side-kick to the body followed by a quick punching combination, and nearly worked the position into an Anaconda Choke. It’s exactly that type of multi-faceted attack that makes “Bigfoot” such a huge threat (pun not intended) in a Heavyweight Division primarily featuring slower, singular-minded athletes. It’s also the very thing making his alleged steroid use and resulting punishment so extraordinarily frustrating.

Unfortunately, as stated earlier, the American Top Team product wasn’t able to utilize his abilities to finish Nakao who instead fell victim to the injury bug. During a sequence where the Japanese fighter was backed into a corner, he leaned forward to throw a large overhand left, locked the toe of his shoe on the canvas in the process, and buckled his knee due to the momentum created by the punch. He quickly called for time, and, at least based on his behavior and the doctors’ subsequent actions, it appeared as though “Kiss” might have torn ligaments as a result of the errant strike.

While Nakao probably has rehabilitation in his immediate future, it’s hard to say what Silva’s forthcoming months will bring other than another fight at a different Sengoku event. With Josh Barnett also under contract to World Victory Road, a bout against “The Babyface Assassin” seems to be the most logical bout the promotion can make from a marketability standpoint as well as where equitable talent is concerned.

While eight other men emerged victorious at Saitama Super Arena this past weekend, it wouldn’t be hard to argue that there was only one actual winner at “Sengoku VII” – Jorge Santiago. Few fighters can claim to be as hot professionally as the often underrated teammate of Antonio Silva at ATT. Were fans of mixed martial arts asked to name a Brazilian middleweight who hasn’t lost in more than two years and has nine straight finishes, many of which came against respectable opponents, the answer would undoubtedly come back “Anderson Silva” 99% of the time. However, “The Spider” is not alone in recent dominance of his peers, as Santiago hasn’t fallen in defeat since December 2006 and laid waste along the way to the likes of Jeremy Horn, Trevor Prangley, and Kazuhiro Nakamura, and most recently Kazuo Misaki in winning World Victory Road’s Middleweight Championship. Santiago has finished 20 of the 21 opponents he’s beaten in his career with nearly an equal number of knockouts and submissions to his credit. Any fighter able to end his opponent’s night no matter what direction the bout takes is a dangerous individual to contend with and the 28-year old from Rio de Janeiro has shown himself to be that breed of competitor.

Choking out “The Grabaka Hitman” at “Seventh Battle” cemented the young athlete’s place among the top Mixed Martial Artists at his weight class and should earn him a trip back to the Octagon as soon as he’s contractually able to compete for them. In the meantime, while World Victory Road’s 185-pound division is rather thin, both Strikeforce and Affliction have reputable Middleweights like Vitor Belfort, Matt Lindland, Gegard Mousasi, Frank Shamrock, and Cung Le who would not only be suitable foes for Santiago when it comes to overall skill but also carry with them the potential for putting on an extremely exciting fight.

Where “Sengoku VII” added thrust to the rocketing careers of Mo Lawal and Jorge Santiago and provided a forum for Antonio Silva and Dave Herman to at least display their talents en route to disappointing outcomes, the show was not wholly positive and further tarnished the reputation of two former PRIDE standouts. Hidehiko Yoshida is as close to a national hero in Japan as there is for both his gold-medal winning performance in judo at the 1992 Summer Olympics and his early success in Mixed Martial Arts. Yoshida’s record is highlighted with some of MMA’s best and brightest both past and present; names like Royce Gracie, Don Frye, Wanderlei Silva, Mirko Filipovic, and Josh Barnett. However, he’s lost four of his last five fights and turns 40 this September. His inability to beat fellow Japanese journeyman Sanae Kikuta at “Seventh Battle” was simply another indicator that the judoka’s best days are long behind him. Joining Yoshida at a crossroads in his own respective career is none other than the all-too-often coddled Takanori Gomi.

Given his recent struggles in the ring, “The Fireball Kid” has been anything but hot lately. Whether it is due to a lack of dedication to training (as he’s been accused of before), a gross underestimation of his recent opponents, or perhaps a lingering “contact high” after the his encounter with Nick Diaz at PRIDE 33, Gomi has been anything but the knockout artist fans became acquainted with between 2004-2006. In the Japanese star’s defense, he dominated the first ninety seconds of his “Sengoku VII” bout and only got caught in an Achilles Lock after taking Satoru Kitaoka down and working his back. Kitaoka was then able to reverse Gomi and quickly latched onto an exposed leg before his opponent had a chance to gather his bearings. After defeating Eddie Alvarez on New Year’s Eve with a heel-hook, DREAM dynamo Shinya Aoki alluded to the danger of a fighters familiar with similar submissions due to the difficulty in defending attacks on the leg/ankle.

Takanori Gomi’s loss seems to lend weight to Aoki’s claims given how quickly it changed the momentum of the match. Still, the uber-popular Japanese fighter was essentially handed the World Victory Road Lightweight Championship on a silver platter by company executives and remained unable to seal the deal, so it’s important to avoid dismissing Kitaoka’s accomplishment at the event. He withstood everything Gomi threw at him, took advantage of an opening, and in less than two minutes joined B.J. Penn and Marcus Aurelio as the only mixed martial artists to ever finish “The Fireball Kid.” Not bad company to be in, eh?

It’s hard to say what’s next for Takanori Gomi. His star still shines bright in Japan but his standing in the fight community is rapidly declining. While the “Rascal” representative may make a great deal of money from merchandising and other marketing opportunities in Asia, there’s something to be said for a man’s reputation and the pride of a fighter. Losing back-to-back-fights cannot sit well with a man accustomed to demolishing his opponents. Whether he decides to remain in World Victory Road, subject to scrutiny from American fans for facing (and potentially losing to) subpar competition, or tests his worth in the UFC where he his stand-up prowess will benefit from use in a more-confined area, it’s clear the next twelve months will be as important a year in Gomi’s career as he’s experienced thus far. His next few fights will determine whether or not the one-time posterboy is still the warrior fans saw in PRIDE or on the verge of fading into relative obscurity.

Based on the above descriptions, and the labels World Victory Road has earned over its nine months of existence, “Sengoku VII” personified the promotion in more ways than one. The card featured quality talent, intriguing match-ups, highlight finishes, and multiple memorable moments. That being said, it was also a show playing home to Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva who is currently suspended from competition in America based on a positive drug test, as well containing a Lightweight Championship affair where one of the contenders was coming off a loss but was still given the opportunity anyways due to his popularity in the region. The “yin” and “yang” of WVR were both very present at “Seventh Battle” and made for a balanced, entertaining event. If the company’s executives are able to build on their recent successes, limit the repetition of their previous mistakes, and find that MMA fans will accept a higher number of promotional shenanigans than they might typically be used to, World Victory Road could very well be on its way to becoming DREAM’s nightmare – the premier Mixed Martial Arts provider in Japan.

1. Hidetada Irie defeats Minoru Kato via TKO (punches) at 4:21 of round 2
2. Maximo Blanco defeats Seigo Inoue via knockout (stomps) at 0:38 of round 1
3. Mu Bae Choi defeats Dave Herman via TKO (punches) at 2:22 of round 2
4. Eiji Mitsuoka defeats Sergey Golyaev via submission (armbar) at 4:22 of round 1
5. Antonio Silva defeats Yoshihiro Nakao via TKO (injury) at 1:42 of round 1
6. Muhammed Lawal defeats Yukiya Naito via TKO (punches) at 3:54 of round 1
7. Sanae Kikuta defeats Hidehiko Yoshida via split decision
8. Jorge Santiago defeats Kazuo Misaki via technical submission (rear naked choke) at 3:26 of round 5. Santiago becomes the first-ever Sengoku middleweight champion.
9. Satoru Kitaoka defeats Takanori Gomi via submission (Achilles lock) at 1:41 of round 1. Kitaoka becomes the first-ever Sengoku lightweight champion.

Ishii entered the ring during the show’s intermission and was seen wearing a UFC t-shirt. After wishing the crowd a Happy New Year, the former judoka referred to himself as an MMA fighter. Ishii also took the opportunity to dispels rumors that Bob Sapp’s victory over the masked professional wrestler “Kinniku Mantaro” during FEG’s “Dynamite!!” event on New Year’s Eve was against him.

Some confusion was created by the loss because the role of Mantaro, a popular character within Japanese Anime, was played by Akihito Tanaka, who was a Olympic bronze medalist for Japan in freestyle wrestling.

Ishii closed the interview by re-stating his intentions to begin his career in the U.S. but vowed to return to Japan one day and intimated he would do so as a world champion.

The appearance was surprising because Ishii, a gold medal winner in judo while representing his native country of Japan during this past summer’s Olympic games in Beijing, at one point had reportedly signed with FEG’s DREAM promotion and was expected to appear at “Dynamite!!” Sengoku is considered to be a direct competitor to DREAM.

However, the deal between Ishii and DREAM apparently never became finalized as he would later be quoted as saying that he considered the UFC to be the top promotion in the world and it was his desire to compete there. Soon after the comments became public, UFC President Dana White invited Ishii to spend time in the United States during the New Year’s holiday in order to attend UFC 92 while also touring several of Las Vegas’ top MMA gyms.

Despite not having signed a contract with the UFC, the promotion still featured him on-camera several times during the Japanese feed of the UFC 92 pay-per-view. Soon after, a release was issued on UFC.com which proclaimed that “exclusive” negotiations had begun between both parties.

“Satoshi Ishii has the potential to be very successful in mixed martial arts,” White was quoted as saying. “We can’t wait to start working with Mr. Ishii, we look forward to helping him with his training, his career, and his eventual debut in a professional fight.”

To date, there have been no official reports that Ishii has formally signed with the UFC.

Despite having lost to Sergey Golyaev via split decision during Sengoku’s “Sixth Battle” in November, Gomi was given an opportunity to face the promotion’s lightweight Grand Prix winner, Satoru Kitaoka, in a bout to determine Sengoku’s first-ever lightweight champion.

Gomi’s fight vs. Kitaoka lasted all of one minute and 41 seconds after the former PRIDE lightweight champion was forced to submit to an Achilles lock. The result left him with just two victories in his last three fights, hardly credentials worthy of elite-level competitor status.

Gomi’s fall from grace began in February of 2007 at PRIDE 33 when he was submitted in the second round by Nick Diaz courtesy of a gogoplata. The result was later ruled a no contest by the Nevada State Athletic Commission after Diaz had tested for abnormally high levels of THC. However, millions of fight fans witnessed Gomi being dominated in the standup aspect of the fight after he had been pushed by PRIDE as the best lightweight striker in the world.

He rebounded with a first round TKO (due to cut) victory over Duane Ludwig during Sengoku’s first-ever event this past March but followed it up with an uninspiring unanimous decision victory over Seung Hwan Bang during Sengoku’s “Fourth Battle.” The performance sparked many pundits to question whether Gomi should still be regarded as a top rated lightweight. Gomi only provided his critics with additional ammunition following his consecutive losses to Golyaev and Kitaoka.

A former welterweight champion in Shooto, Gomi rose to prominence in PRIDE with notable victories over Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett, former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver, Marcus Aurelio, Ralph Gracie, and current DREAM standouts Mitsuhiro Ishida and Tatsuya Kawajiri.

Gomi actually began his PRIDE career with a perfect 10-0 record before losing to Aurelio via first round submission in April of 2006 at Bushido 10. He would later avenge the loss to Aurelio and improved his PRIDE record to 13-1 before losing to Diaz at PRIDE 33.

With the win, Kitaoka improved his record to 24-8 and is now recognized as both Sengoku’s first-ever lightweight Grand Prix winner and lightweight champion. He presently holds notable wins over his career against Gomi, Paul Daley, Kurt Pellegrino, current WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit, Eiji Mitsuoka, Clay French and Hidehiko Hasegawa.

Kitaoka is now 10-1 in his last eleven fights, which is quite a dramatic turnaround for a fighter who began his career with just one victory in his first six bouts.

According to the promotion’s website, Lawal is set to face Yukiya Naito, a veteran of K-1, DEEP, and Pancrase who also sports a record of 15-4-2.

Lawal, who had been an Olympic hopeful in freestyle wrestling for the 2008 Beijing games before being upset during the U.S. trials, made his MMA debut in spectacular fashion at Sengoku 5 in September. Facing UFC and PRIDE veteran Travis Wiuff, Lawal was victorious following a first round TKO.

The former Team Quest trained fighter then returned at Sengoku 6 in November, where he recorded a third round TKO over Fabio Silva, improving his pro MMA record to 2-0.

As of now, “Sengoku no Ran 2009″ is set to be an 11-bout show with the following matchups scheduled:

• Takanori Gomi vs. Satoru Kitaoka for the vacant Sengoku lightweight title
• Kazuo Misaki vs. Jorge Santiago for the vacant Sengoku middleweight title
• Yoshihiro Nakao vs. Antonio Silva
• Sanae Kikuta vs. Hidehiko Yoshida
• Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal vs. Yukiya Naito
• Sergey Golyaev vs. Eiji Mitsuoka
• Mu Bae Choi vs. Dave Herman
• Maximo Blanco vs. Seigo Inoue
• Hidetada Irie vs. Minoru Kato
• James Thompson vs. TBA
• Roger Gracie vs. TBA