Sengoku VIII Recap, Analysis & Video

Sengoku VIII ended at the wee hours of the morning today with the BloodyElbow.com Night Crew cracking jokes the entire evening of action. We were not disappointed in some of the action that took place as the next round of the Featherweight Grand Prix was decided, and some of the up-and-coming stars within the Japanese MMA scene were put on showcase. Here's what happened at Sengoku VIII:

Hirotoshi Saito def. Yoshitaka Abe via Submission (Armbar) at 2:52 of Round 1
Shigeki Osawa def. Kota Ishibashi via Unanimous Decision (20-18, 20-19, 20-19)
Akihiko Mori def. Maximo Blanco via DQ (Illegal Soccer Kick) at 4:20 of Round 1
Stanislav Nedkov def. Travis Wiuff via TKO (Punches) at 0:42 of Round 3
Makoto Takimoto def. Michael Costa via Submission (Heel Hook) at 3:31 of Round 1
Marlon Sandro def. Nick Denis via KO (Punches) at 0:19 of Round 1
Masanori Kanehara def. Chan Sung Jung via Unanimous Decision (30-29, 30-29, 29-28)
Xande Ribeiro def. Keiichiro Yamamiya via KO (Punch) at 2:20 of Round 1
Kazunori Yokota def. Leonardo Santos via Split Decision (30-29 Yokota x2, 29-28 Santos)
Michihiro Omigawa def. Nam Phan via TKO (Punches) at 4:52 of Round 1
Hatsu Hioki def. Ronnie Mann via TKO (Strikes) at 3:09 of Round 1

The event's surprises revolved around Stanislav Nedkov's huge win over Travis Wiuff after Nedkov was red carded twice (point deductions) due to groin strikes from knees landed in the clinch. Reminiscent of the K-Sos vs. Andrade Ring of Combat 18 debacle in which K-Sos was kneed roughly 7-8 times in the groin and finally awarded a victory via DQ, Nedkov was one red card away from being disqualified due to groin strikes.  Wiuff decided to continue, and Nedkov's power and tenacity in the standup department paid off late in the first round.

The other major upset of the evening once again featured former UFC veteran Michihiro Omigawa. He defeated Nam Phan by using deceptive strength and judo in the corners to floor Phan and inflict damage. Phan was able to escape numerous times, but Omigawa's striking skills coupled with his power were too much for Phan. It was impressive to say the least.

Here's a breakdown of the fighters I believe were the winners and losers of the event based on the outcomes of their bouts:

Winners

Hatsu Hioki: He was absolutely dominating against Ronnie Mann, and he is beginning to show signs of a much tougher mental attitude toward the fight game. Instead of being suckered into brawls with lesser skilled opponents, Hioki is taking it to his opponents immediately with great jiu-jitsu, smooth transitions, and solid takedowns. Hioki is in top form right now, he'll be a very formidable favorite for anyone to knock off.

Michihiro Omigawa: At 145 pounds, Michihiro Omigawa is a nightmare. He has shown in both upset wins that his strength at 145 is very high, toppling L.C. Davis and Nam Phan easily in both of his Featherweight Grand Prix matchups. Omigawa's gameplans revolve around using his judo coupled with his power to punish opponents on the floor. Unfortunately, Phan couldn't hang with Omigawa standing once he was cornered. Can Omigawa pull off another upset in the next round? It'll be tough, but he certainly has found at home at Featherweight.

Marlon Sandro: Most of us expected another top control dominating performance from Marlon Sandro, but we were instead treated to a :19 second affair that saw Sandro land two flush strikes to Nick Denis, ending his night abruptly. A lot of Sandro's critics point out his non-finishing performances in the past, but with two finishes in his last two fights, Sandro is moving toward become a huge force in this tournament.

Makoto Takimoto: Takimoto has had a rough run as an Olympic Judo Gold Medalist. Like most Olympians in Japan, he was fed to the wolves early and often. He now has a chance to build his skillset, and Costa was overpowered by Takimoto's skill early. Costa didn't have much to offer, and I imagine if Takimoto gets some mid-tier matchups, he may end up being a formidable opponent to upper-echelon competition within the promotion if he keeps improving.

Losers

Maximo Blanco: He showed the fans and crowd the type of power he can bring to the ring. He manhandled Mori for most of the fight, tossing him around like a ragdoll and showing vicious aggression in trying to end the fight. The problem was that Blanco's aggression is a bit uncontrolled. Instead of punching Mori one more time for good measure, Blanco soccer kicks Mori and DQ's himself. Blanco has massive potential to be a force in Japan, but his uncontrolled aggression in the ring is going to cost him more fights unless he can make intelligent decisions.

Leonardo Santos: Such a disappointing performance from Santos. His BJJ was fairly ineffective for most of the fight as Yokota kept his fist in Santos' face while he tried to grip for submission attempts. Santos' only solid strikes came from knees when Yokota tried to press the action, but for the most part, Santos came up way short of expectations from fans.

Quick Notes:

I wasn't exactly impressed with Xande tonight. Although he did show some big power in his hands and some solid jiu-jitsu on the floor, he looked rather normal in comparison to a low to mid-level fighter. He was a bit slow, and a bit methodical on the floor in terms of transitioning to the submission. As I've said in the past, transition speed can be everything on the floor, and guys who methodically work from submission to submission without urgency can be beaten to a pulp.

Xande luckily showed that his strength in the striking department is something to fear. Throwing the big rights and lefts, he caught Yamamiya late. My only legitimate problem here is that eventually... he'll run into King Mo. Mo will probably crush him like a pancake on the ground if Xande can't speed up his transitions.

A lot of people will say Kanehara vs. Jung was a big controversy, but I saw it 29-28 Kanehara due to the top control he exhibited for much of the two rounds he controlled and some of the damage he did on top. It wasn't by any means overwhelming, but it was enough to win both rounds in my opinion. I could also see it going the other way however, but as some fans pointed out, Sengoku's judging criteria is much for "finish" based than damage based.

Yeah... apparently it isn't.

Videos after the jump....

Maximo Blanco vs. Akihiko Mori

Stanislav Nedkov vs. Travis Wiuff - PART 1

 
Stanislav Nedkov vs. Travis Wiuff - PART 2

 
Michael Costa vs. Makoto Takimoto

Marlon Sandro vs. Nick Denis

Ronnie Mann vs. Hatsu Hioki

Michihiro Omigawa vs. Nam Phan

"Xande" Ribeiro vs. Keiichiro Yamamiya