Bloody Elbow: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:


Pro Quality. Fan Perspective.
Login-facebook
New Blog: Cottagers Confidential for Fulham FC Fans!

Akihiro Gono to Sengoku, Fujita vs. Ivanov Official for August

20090609_sengoku_06_medium

World Victory Road confirmed a couple of widely circulated rumors at their press conference in Tokyo today, first and foremost being that former PRIDE superstar Akihiro Gono (29-14-7) will return to Japan after a nearly three-year absence under the Sengoku banner on August 2nd. Gono - who was released by the UFC in March following consecutive losses to Dan Hardy and Jon Fitch - is set to become the centerpiece of the Sengoku welterweight division, which WVR says will see its first champion crowned on the New Year's "Sengoku No Ran" show. No opponent was announced.

At the presser, Gono joked about statements made by high profile signing Satoshi Ishii last week, telling the assembled reporters: "I decided to participate in Sengoku, though I haven't received a Don Quijote gift certificate from Chairman Yasuda yet." Gono also said he'll have a new entrance routine from his afro'd alter ego "DJ Gozma," who he claims took up sumo wrestling while Gono's been away.

The other major announcement for Sengoku IX was that Blagoi Ivanov (0-0) will indeed make his MMA debut against "Ironhead," Kazuyuki Fujita (15-7). The match, which was first reported in May by Tokyo Sports, could be the beginning of a push to set up a Fedor appearance in Sengoku, since Ivanov notoriously beat the heavyweight kingpin at the 2008 World Combat Sambo Championships. Ivanov is training MMA with SK Absolute, and the Sengoku site lists him at 180cm (5'11"), 112kg (246 lbs).

Also set to return to action on August 2nd is Eiji Mitsuoka (15-6-2), who rebounded from his 2008 Lightweight Grand Prix loss to Satoru Kitaoka by defeating the man who "beat" Gomi, Sergey Golyaev, last New Year's. Mitsuoka is the latest long-time Wajyutsu Keisyukai fighter to leave under hushed circumstances, joining Caol Uno and (presumably) Yushin Okami. He's now training at Yoshida Dojo.

Photo by GBRing.

Star-divide

SENGOKU IX
August 2nd, 2009
Saitama Super Arena
Saitama, Japan

Sengoku Lightweight Title Fight
Satoru Kitaoka
(25-8-9) vs. Mizuto Hirota (11-3-1)

Sengoku 2009 Featherweight Grand Prix Semifinals
Hatsu Hioki
(19-3-2) vs. Masanori Kanehara (13-5-5)
Michihiro Omigawa
(6-7-1) vs. Marlon Sandro (14-0)

Sengoku 2009 Featherweight Grand Prix Final
Hioki/Kanehara vs. Omigawa/Sandro

Sengoku Middleweight Title Eliminator
Kazuhiro Nakamura
(13-9) vs. Kazuo Misaki (21-9-2)

Heavyweight Fight:
Kazuyuki Fujita (15-7) vs. Blagoi Ivanov (0-0)

Scheduled Participants
Akihiro Gono
(29-14-7)
Eiji Mitsuoka
 (15-6-2)

Rumored participants include Satoshi Ishii, Hidehiko Yoshida, James Thompson, and Alexandre "Pequeno" Nogueira.

0 recs  |  Comment 13 comments |

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Display:

are they skipping the welterweight tournament and gono is just going to be put in a match for the vacant title? or did i misunderstand?

by gitkotif on Jun 9, 2009 10:52 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

It’s not very clear. They could do what they did for the LW and MW tournaments, where the winners fought Gomi and Misaki at No Ran.

by Chris Nelson on Jun 9, 2009 10:59 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

thats true. i wonder how much competition they get for gono though. most standout welterweights are already accounted for, for the most part

by gitkotif on Jun 9, 2009 3:51 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Yeah, they’ve got uhh… Michael Costa? I’m guessing they’ll borrow heavily from Shooto and ZST.

by Chris Nelson on Jun 9, 2009 4:09 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

maybe they’ll get lucky and pull another michihiro omigawa out of their butt again

by gitkotif on Jun 9, 2009 4:34 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

And who ever said they all look alike.

by SamCupitt on Jun 9, 2009 11:23 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Jesus christ, that’s a huge fuckin’ head!

by grein on Jun 9, 2009 11:32 AM EDT up reply actions   1 recs

Anyone know why people are leaving WJK?

by Tonley on Jun 9, 2009 11:31 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Gono to Sengoku Was Expected...

Where is the Ryo Chonan news? He has to be signing with either DREAM or Sengoku soon, and we all assumed it would be Sengoku.

by MMASuPreMaCy on Jun 9, 2009 12:59 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Chonan had some kind of foot injury after his fight with T.J. Grant and said he wasn’t sure what he’d do next.
I think a tune-up fight or two in DEEP would make sense.

by Chris Nelson on Jun 9, 2009 1:17 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

DJ GOZMA!

A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.

by iiowyn on Jun 9, 2009 1:07 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Glad to see Ivanov making his debut. Tough ask first up against Fujita…….although hes not a young man and hasnt fought in 12 months so he could have slowed quite a bit.

by GeeDub on Jun 9, 2009 9:20 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Comments For This Post Are Closed


User Tools

"All men are frauds. The only difference between them is that some admit it. I myself deny it." -- H.L. Mencken
Start posting on Bloody Elbow »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

Connect_with_facebook

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recommended FanPosts

Img_0962_small
Only in Canada? - MMA increasingly relevant in mainstream sports media
Headkick-lg_small
From the Vault: Gary Goodridge v. Chalid Die Faust
Img_0162_small
Take Down 2 Strikers and Call Me in the Morning
Skittles_small
The problem with UFC's counter programming & the fan support
Th_brazil171_small
Shogun Interview - 02/20/10

Recent FanPosts

Deowade30p_gmail
CAN
Small
UFC 112: A Puncher's Chance
Small
Tito Ortiz out of TUF 11 and Liddell Fight
Joelauzon_small
Likely Bonuses for UFC on Versus 1
Small
MMA SEMINAR DONT MISS IT
Eddie_logo_200_small
Former University of Tennessee linebacker Ovince St. Preux vs. Chris Hawk added to "Strikeforce: Nashville" prelims
Weoweoweodotdeviantartdotcom_by_weoweoweo_small
How's Taste My Tweet Tweet? Mixed Martial Arts on Twitter for the 3rd Week of March
Gsp123jv7_small
UFC 2010: Undisputed Sponsor List Revealed...
Eddie_logo_200_small
UFC 111 conference call with St. Pierre, Hardy, Carwin, Mir *AUDIO*

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >

MMA Rankings

USA Today / SB Nation Consensus MMA Rankings

SBNation.com Recent Stories

Photo

Rumor: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Hidehiko Yoshida At ASTRA

Photo

Bobby Lashley Planned For April Strikeforce: Nashville Event

Photo

Pat Curran Announced As Final Participant In Bellator's Season Two Lightweight Tournament

More from SBNation.com >