Marlon Sandro beat Matt Jaggers at Sengoku 7th Battle with a standing arm triangle (known in the judo world as kata gatame).

Most of the match was spent on the ground with Sandro dominating position but not scoring much damage and not going for many submissions.

One theme that reoccurred throughout the fight was reversals of position with Jaggers escaping from bottom position several times and Sandro just as frequently reversing again to regain top position.

Jaggers' undoing came immediately after he scored another reversal. Sandro had gained top position and was working for an arm triangle side choke. Announcer Bas Rutten was openly heckling Sandro throughout the fight and had dismissed Sandro's chances of scoring a submission with a side choke on Jaggers.

Just then Jaggers rolled and threw Sandro off, as they stood, Sandro immediately went for the side choke again and this time he nailed it.

More on how Sandro executed the choke and how Jaggers exposed himself to danger in the full entry.

Here's how wikipedia explains the arm triangle:

Arm triangle choke (or simply arm triangle) is a generic term describing blood chokeholds in which the opponent is strangled in between his or her own shoulder and the performers arm. This is as opposed to the regular triangle choke, which denotes a chokehold using the legs, albeit with a similar mechanism of strangulation against the opponent's own shoulder. An arm triangle choke where the performer is on the side of the opponent and presses a forearm into opposite side of the neck of the opponent is called a side choke, such as from the kata-gatame hold.

Gif by Chris Nelson from the MBC ESPN broadcast of Sengoku 7, March 20, 2009.

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The other big featherweight tournament of 2009 gets going late night tonight/early tomorrow morning as Sengoku VII airs live on HDNet from Yoyogi National Stadium in Tokyo. The fun begins at 3AM ET so be sure to join us (or maybe just me, talking to myself) and comment away.

[UPDATE] 1:08 AM ET - Just got this email from Adam Swift at HDNet:

The LIVE broadcast of "HDNet Fights Presents: World Victory Road: Sengoku 7" on HDNet has been delayed by one hour. It will now begin at 1AM PT / 4AM ET, instead of the originally scheduled time of 12AM PT / 3AM ET.

An encore presentation will be broadcast as scheduled on HDNet at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT on Friday, March 20.

Sengoku VII Quick Results
Nick Denis def. Seiya Kawahara via TKO (Strikes) at 2:36 of Round 1
Ronnie Mann def. Tetsuya Yamada via Unanimous Decision
Chan Sung Jung def. Shintaro Ishiwatari via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:29 of Round 1
Masanori Kanehara def. Jong Man Kim via Unanimous Decision
Marlon Sandro def. Matt Jaggers via Technical Submission (Standing Side Choke) at 2:57 of Round 2
Michihiro Omigawa def. L.C. Davis via Unanimous Decision
Jim York def. James Thompson via KO (Punch) at 4:33 of Round 1
Nam Phan def. Hideki Kadowaki via KO (Punch) at 3:09 of Round 1
Hatsu Hioki def. Chris Manuel via Submission (Triangle Armbar) at 4:12 of Round 1
Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal def. Ryo Kawamura via Unanimous Decision

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King Mo (92.8 kg / 204.6 lbs) vs. Ryo Kawamura (93 kg / 205 lbs)
Hatsu Hioki (65 kg / 143.3 lbs) vs. Chris Manuel (64.2 kg / 141.5 lbs)
Nam Phan (64.8 kg / 142.9 lbs) vs. Hideki Kadowaki (64.9 kg / 143.1 lbs)
James Thompson (123.3 kg / 271.8 lbs) vs. Big Jim York (120 kg / 264.6 lbs)
Michihiro Omigawa (64.8 kg / 142.9 lbs) vs. L.C. Davis (64.7 kg / 142.6 lbs)
Marlon Sandro (65 kg / 143.3 lbs) vs. Matt Jaggers (65 kg / 143.3 lbs)
Kim Jong Man (64.8 kg / 142.9 lbs) vs. Masanori Kanehara (64.9 kg / 143.1 lbs)
Chan Sung Jung (64.9 kg / 143.1 lbs) vs. Shintaro Ishiwatari (65 kg / 143.3 lbs)
Ronnie Ushiwaka (64.7 kg / 142.6 lbs) vs. Tetsuya Yamada (65 kg / 143.3 lbs)
Seiya Kawahara (65 kg / 143.3 lbs) vs. Nick Denis (64.8 kg / 142.9 lbs)

via Sportsnavi

Earlier this week, Jordan Breen reasoned his preference for Sengoku's Featherweight Grand Prix over DREAM's in the Sherdog piece "Coming-Out Party vs. Predictable Coronation." As the title would suggest, Breen cites DREAM's unabashed favoritism of Norifumi Yamamoto and the awkward "KID"-chosen 63kg weight limit - among other factors - as strikes against the name-loaded tourney. But praise was also in order for World Victory Road's relatively unheralded product, which upon closer inspection, is looking like an international featherweight youth movement. To wit:

Sengoku has been a venue in which excellent but underexposed fighters can earn quality purses and face quality opposition. Using a deserving talent like Hatsu Hioki as the domestic poster boy and incorporating outstanding international prospects that have had few opportunities to face top talent thus far -- such as Marlon Sandro, L.C. Davis, Nick Denis and Ronnie Mann -- is masterful. What is also engrossing about the lineup is that any -- or many -- of these prospects may soon be primetime players in the division when you consider the youthful exuberance of the tournament.

. . .

The average age of a Dream featherweight tournament competitor is 27.33 years old. For Sengoku’s 16-man field, it’s 25.5 years, and if you remove the four mid 30s reps -- Hideki Kadowaki, Jong Man Kim, Michihiro Omigawa and Sandro -- the average age of the remaining 12 is a fresh-faced 23.25 years old. Nine of Sengoku’s entrants are 25 years of age or under; it would have been 10 if Nam Phan had not turned 26 on March 13. Dream’s filicidal bracket only had four fighters under 25, and three of them have already been eliminated.

The build-up to DREAM.7 was fantastic; the event, perhaps predictibly, failed to fully deliver on the hype. But I believe the inverse should prove true for Sengoku's "Seventh Battle," which arrives this Friday (HDNet, 3AM ET) with far less fanfare than its FEG-produced doppelganger, but with just as much talent and matchmaking even better suited to create enduring scraps.

BloodyElbow.com will have live play-by-play, commentary and discussion of Sengoku VII on Friday morning, so if you're calling in sick to school or work in exchange for six hours of MMA make sure to join us.

My picks for the full card after the jump; feel free to post yours in the comments. There are no fancy jpeg belts, but locking in your picks now = getting to brag later.

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A nice selection of clips from hard-hitting Pancrase bantam/featherweight prospect Seiya Kawahara (6-1). Definitely one to watch in Sengoku's FWGP, Kawahara takes on King of the Cage Canada's Bantamweight Champion Nick Denis (6-0) in the opening round at Sengoku VII.

The show airs live on HDNet at 3AM ET this Friday - if you're staying up, be sure to join us here at BloodyElbow.com for live results, commentary and discussion.

HT: NOB

At last!

SENGOKU VII
March 20th, 2009
Yoyogi National Stadium
Tokyo, Japan

#23 LHW "King" Mo Lawal (3-0) vs. Ryo Kawamura (9-3-2)

James Thompson (14-9) vs. "Big" Jim York (9-2)


Featherweight GP Opening Round Bouts

#5 FW Hatsu Hioki (17-3-2) vs. Chris Manuel (6-0-2)


#42 FW Nam Phan (14-5) vs. #11 FW Hideki Kadowaki (13-8-2)


#18 FW Marlon Sandro (12-0) vs. Matt Jaggers (9-4)


Michihiro Omigawa (4-7-1) vs. #13 FW L.C. Davis (13-1)


#40 FW Shintaro Ishiwatari (6-1-3) vs. Chan Sung Jung (2-0)


Masanori Kanehara (11-5-5) vs. #28 FW Jong Man Kim (3-5-3)


Seiya Kawahara (6-1) vs. Nick Denis (6-0)


Tetsuya Yamada (3-0) vs. Ronnie Mann (16-1-1)

[UPDATE] More news out of the press conference - World Victory Road signed Waggney Fabiano's brother!

Also announced was the first official participant for SENGOKU VIII which will take place on May 2nd. He is a new signing in Nova Uniao Lightweight BJJ expert Leonardo Santos who is currently on a 5 fight winning streak.

. . .

The quarterfinals of the Featherweight GP and a Middleweight, Welterweight, and Lightweight fight are planned to be held at SENGOKU VIII. The Leonardo Santos vs. TBA fight is likely to be a number 1 contender fight for a shot at Kitaoka.