It's Official: Satoshi Ishii Joins Sengoku

Olympic gold medalist Satoshi Ishii officially signed with Sengoku today in front of approximately 3,000 fans during a public ceremony at Shinjuku Station Square. There was speculation that Ishii's first opponent would be announced as well - possibly fellow judoka Hidehiko Yoshida, who was in attendance - but nothing was mentioned. Ishii joked with reporters and said that his reason for choosing Sengoku over another MMA promotion was that he received a nice gift certificate from the president of discount retailer and main Sengoku sponsor Don Quijote. Ishii also confirmed that he will not wear a gi when he makes his MMA debut.

Speaking of gi's, Yoshida Dojo veteran Kazuhiro Nakamura was one of twenty or so fighters who showed up for the signing; however his Sengoku IX opponent, Kazuo Misaki, was not. Nakamura expressed his anger and said he will kill Misaki on August 2nd. Asked by a fan who he'd like to fight, Nakamura said he wants a rematch Wanderlei Silva, who once famously TKO'd Nakamura after the judoka removed his gi top mid-fight.

UPDATED at 3:13 PM ET

Daniel Herbertson has coverage of the signing over at Sherdog:

Keeping with the tradition of mixing MMA and comedy in Japan, Ishii attempted to live up to the humor of some of his peers on the Japanese scene. The 22-year-old strutted out to the stage wearing a sumo wig but quickly became embarrassed and tried to tear off the headgear when no one laughed. The laughter came soon after.

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“I want to have exciting fights and become world heavyweight champion,” he said. “I’d like to fight at any time. If I can, I’ll come out Aug. 2 at [Sengoku ‘Ninth Battle’].”

Photo via Sportsnavi