To no one's surprise Takanori Gomi pulled out a win against Seung Hwan Bang but it certainly didn't impress Daniel Herbertson of Sherdog:

All three judges saw the fight for Gomi, but Bang had clearly showed that he is one of the hottest up-and-comers in Asia. Gomi looked less than impressive in the bout, and if his opponent had better gas and low kick defense, the decision might have gone against him.

And the Sengoku lightweight tournament which is designed to create a big-time challenger for Gomi is doing a better job of killing stars than making them. Case in point, Rodrigo Damm. Here's how Jordan Breen described him before his bout with journeyman spoiler Eiji Mitsuoka:

A Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion with a few Brazilian national wrestling titles tossed in for good measure, Damm is a serious grappler who has put those skills to good use in his young career.

Coming off an improbable KO win over YouTube legend Jorge Masvidal, Damm was favored and poised for a Jacare style breakout if he beat Mitsuoka in impressive style. Instead, Damm got sloppy and got himself slugged, stunned and choked out. Mitsuoka is a bad man, you have to be to earn a win (even a split-decision) win over DREAM champ Joachim Hansen, but he's not going to be a star anytime soon.

Same thing happened to IFL champ Ryan Schultz. After his classic beat down of golden boy Chris Horodecki and a grinding win over the IFL's other lightweight hype Deividas Taurosevicius, Schulz was primed to pull an Eddie Alvarez with a breakout performance in the WVR tournament. Instead, Schultz fought stupid and got himself KO'd by CageForce champ Mizuto Hirota.

Ok, so maybe I'm being too negative. Hirota, riding a 4 fight KO streak could be a star in the making. And Satoru Kitaoka -- training partner of fellow submission kings Shinya Aoki and Masakazu Imanari --is looking pretty sharp after his 31 second finish of Matt Hughes' protege Clay French. But nevertheless, with no US television exposure and no non-Japanese fighters advancing, the Sengoku tournament is not going to match DREAM for star-making and Takanori Gomi won't be #1 in the world ever again.

In the extended entry to avoid spoilers.

Continue reading this post »

LWGP Opening Round: Clay French vs. Satoru Kitaoka

 

LWGP Opening Round: Eiji Mitsuoka vs. Rodrigo Damm

 

LWGP Opening Round: Ryan Schultz vs. Mizuto Hirota

 

 

The rest of the evening's bouts are in the full entry.

Continue reading this post »

Takanori Gomi (69.9 kg / 153.8 lbs) vs. Bang Seung Hwan (70 kg / 154 lbs)
Satoru Kitaoka (70 kg / 154 lbs) vs. Clay French (69.9 kg / 153.8 lbs)
Eiji Mitsuoka (69.9 kg / 153.8 lbs) vs. Rodrigo Damm (69.9 kg / 153.8 lbs)
Kazunori Yokota (69.9 kg / 153.8 lbs) vs. Bojan Kosednar (69.7 kg / 153.3 lbs)
Mizuto Hirota (69.9 kg / 153.8 lbs) vs. Ryan Schultz (69.8 kg / 153.6 lbs)

Makoto Takimoto (82 kg / 180.4 lbs) vs. Frank Trigg (82.9 kg / 182.4 lbs)

Pawel Nastula (101.6 kg / 223.5 lbs) vs. Yang Dong Yi (100.1 kg / 220.22 lbs)
Peter Graham (111.1 kg / 244.4 lbs) vs. Moise Rimbon (95.9 kg / 211 lbs)
Kazuo Takahashi (94.5 kg / 208 lbs) vs. Valentijn Overeem (108.2 kg / 238 lbs)

HT: Nightmare of Battle

Make your predictions or call an upset for August 24th:

Non-Tournament Bouts:
Takanori Gomi (28-3) vs. Pang Sung Hwan (5-1)

Moise Rimbon (12-7-3) vs. Peter Graham (0-1)

Frank Trigg (16-6) vs. Makoto Takimoto (4-4)

Pawel Nastula (1-3) vs. Yang Dong Yi (2-0)

Valentijn Overeem (25-22) vs. Kazuo Takahashi (28-23-3)


First Round of Lightweight Tournament:
Eiji Mitsuoka (13-5-2) vs. Rodrigo Damm (8-1)

Ryan Schultz (20-9-1) vs. Mizuto Hirota (9-2)

Clay French (16-2) vs. Satoru Kitaoka (20-8-9)

Kazunori Yokota (6-1-3) vs. Bojan Kosednar (6-1)

The Kitoaka vs. French fight should be relatively competitive and if you'll notice, (former?) IFL lightweight champ Ryan "The Lion" Schultz will be competing in the lightweight tourney. It'll be interesting to see how his wrestling translates in the ring against Japanese opponents.

It's not DREAM, but it's absolutely worth a look.

Frank Trigg joined BloodyElbow.com editor Luke Thomas on today's episode of "MMA Nation" and revealed that Fox Sports Net (FSN) is "working diligently" on a deal which would bring World Victory Road's "Sengoku" events to the American cable network. Trigg cited the forthcoming deal as a major factor in his signing with the Japanese promotion, since a basic cable broadcast would provide more exposure for his Triggonomics apparel line than WVR's currently Japan-only pay-per-view showings. Trigg is set to face Makoto Takimoto - a world class judoka who took gold at the 2000 Olympics and currently holds a 4-4 record in MMA - at the fourth Sengoku event on August 24th.

Tomorrow on "MMA Nation" we'll be talking to author Dr. David Mayeda about his new book "Fighting for Acceptance". We'll unwrap the allure of mixed martial arts, it's relationship to violence and its impact on society.

We'll also be speaking with Affliction commentator and top-ranked MMA middleweight Frank Trigg. We'll ask him about his upcoming bout with judoka Makoto Takimoto at Sengoku 4 on August 24th at the Saitma Super Arena.

"MMA Nation" airs every Saturday 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on 106.7 WJFK. To listen live over the Internet, go to WJFK's website and click "Listen Live".

"MMA Nation" is also available by podcast on iTunes.

Number to call: 800-636-1067

Email here.

See you then.

No opponent has yet been announced for Nastula, but it appears Sengoku is still interested in focusing on the heavyweights. Japan MMA has the full card:

Participating:
Pavel Natula 1-3-0

Main-event:
Takanori Gomi 28-3-0 vs. 5-1-0 Hwang Sung Pang

Lightweight GP:
Satoru Kitaoka 20-8-9 vs. 16-2-0 Clay French
Eiji Mitsuoka 13-5-2 vs. 8-1-0 Rodrigo Damm
Kazunori Yokota 6-1-3 vs. 6-1-0 Bojan Kosednar
Mizuto Hirota 9-2-0 vs. 20-9-1 Ryan Schultz

Non-GP Fights:
Peter Graham 0-1-0 vs. 12-7-3 Moise Rimbon
Makoto Takimoto 4-4-0 vs. 16-6-0 Frank Trigg

I previously wrote that Gomi could be facing Hwan and according to Japan-MMA.com, it's true:

Lightweight (non-GP)
Takanori Gomi 28-3-0 vs. 5-1-0 Hwang Sung Pang

Lightweight GP
Satoru Kitaoka 20-8-9 vs. 16-2-0 Clay French
Eiji Mitsuoka 13-5-2 vs. 8-1-0 Rodrigo Damm
Kazunori Yokota 6-1-3 vs. 6-1-0 Bojan Kosednar
Mizuto Hirota 9-2-0 vs. 20-9-1 Ryan Schultz

The Kitoaka vs. French fight should be relatively competitive and if you'll notice, (former?) IFL lightweight champ Ryan "The Lion" Schultz will be competing in the lightweight tourney. It'll be interesting to see how his wrestling translates in the ring against Japanese opponents. Let's not forget that Frank Trigg will be taking on Makoto Takimoto at this event as well.

It's not DREAM, but it's absolutely worth a look.