WVR Changes Weight Classes! Yoshida’s Opponent TBA On February 3rd

World Victory Road have changed the weight classes for Sengoku that were originally announced.

They looked like this before the change:

60 kg – Featherweight
68 kg – Lightweight
76 kg – Welterweight
83 kg – Middleweight
93 kg – Light Heavyweight
93.1 Or More – Heavyweight

Now they have been changed to:

60 kg – Bantamweight
65 kg – Featherweight
70 kg – Lightweight
76 kg – Welterweight
83 kg – Middleweight
93 kg – Light Heavyweight
93.1 Or More – Heavyweight

Hidehiko Yoshida’s opponent who has been rumored as Roger Gracie or Josh Barnett will be announced on Sunday, February 3rd.

Update: Gomi will fight in the 70 kg (154 lbs) division.

Fire Fist Gomi Finally Returns!! Fights On March 5th

Takanori Gomi has been announced as a participant for the first ever Sengoku event on March 5th. No opponent has been named yet.

Sengoku I
Date: March 5th, 2008
Place: National Yoyogi Stadium in Tokyo, Japan

Fights:
Phil Baroni vs. Sanae Kikuta
Kazuo Misaki vs. Siyar Bahadurzada
Makoto Takimoto vs. Evangelista Cyborg

Participants:
Hidehiko Yoshida
Ryo Kawamura
Takanori Gomi

Rumored Fights:
Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Roger Gracie

Possible Participants:
Fabricio Monteiro

(Photo by: http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp/)

The Story Behind The Tokoro Punch/Slap On NYE!

There may be people wondering why Hideo Tokoro punched/slapped Kiyoshi Tamura before their fight on K-1 Dynamite!! 2007. Here is a short story behind it.

Akira Maeda doesn’t like Pride. He blames them for his own organization, RINGS, dying in 2002. Kiyoshi Tamura was a student of Maeda and debuted in RINGS in 1996. He was an important fighter there at one time so when he joined Pride in 2002 you could imagine how Maeda felt.

Hideo Tokoro is a big fan of Maeda and also fought in RINGS once. He has also spent most of his career in the ZST organization which uses very similar rules to RINGS rules.

Now you probably have an idea of why those events between Tokoro, Tamura and Maeda took place on NYE, there might be other reasons than what is written here, but this is what I know.

Maeda has announced that he is holding an amateur MMA event in March, “The Outsider”, with Hero’s rules. This is probably because of FEG working with the Ex-Pride staff.

Here are two GIF animations from before (Tamura and Tokoro) and after the fight (Tamura and Maeda). Thanks to Gryphon’s Japanese blog for finding a link to the second one, it wasn’t shown on the regular TV broadcast.

Cyborg Vs. Mousasi On Friday! Barnett Also A Possible Opponent For Yoshida?

On February 1st Chute Boxe fighter Evangelista Cyborg will face Pride veteran Gegard Mousasi at HCF Destiny in Canada. This is a tough fight for Cyborg as Mousasi is one of the best young fighters in MMA today, at only 22 years old he has already had over 20 pro MMA fights and fought fighters such as Akihiro Gono, Hector Lombard and Makoto Takimoto.

After this fight Cyborg is scheduled to take on Makoto Takimoto at the first ever Sengoku event in March. Mousasi beat Takimoto in Pride so these fights will create some history together.

In other news concerning Sengoku, Zach Arnold of FightOpinion.com writes that WVR is considering Josh Barnett as an opponent for Hidehiko Yoshida. Roger Gracie is heavily rumored as being Yoshida’s opponent right now but we will have to wait and see what happens.

Mystery FEG Event In March! Will It Be Hero’s Or Something Else?

FEG will hold an MMA event in March, the question is with who and what the event will be called. Until we find out, we can look at the rumored card.

ATT General Manager recently appeared on TAGG Radio saying that the Calvan vs. Aoki will take place in a March K-1 show and that Denis Kang will fight on the same card.

Update: A new American Top Team camp report on MMAWeekly.com also says that Calvan will face Aoki and that Denis Kang and Marcelo Garcia will fight on the March FEG card.

Update #2: In an interview with new Brazilian MMA team Universidade da Luta by Ivan Canello, 2007 Hero’s MW GP runner-up Andre Dida says that his next fight is in March.

Mystery FEG Event
Date: March, 2008
Place: Japan

Rumored Fights:
J.Z. Calvan vs. Shinya Aoki
Sergei Kharitonov vs. Jeff Monson

Rumored Participants:
Denis Kang
Zelg Galesic
Marcelo Garcia
Andre Dida

Roger Gracie: “It’s Nearly 100% Certain”! The Japan Vs. Gracie Saga Continues

GRACIEMAG.com has a new article up on their site with comments by Roger Gracie saying that he has accepted all the terms for a fight against Hidehiko Yoshida at the first ever Sengoku event on March 5th.

This fight continues the history of big fights between legendary Japanese fighters and the top of the Gracie family.

1955: Masahiko Kimura vs. Helio Gracie
2000: Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Royce Gracie
2000: Masakatsu Funaki vs. Rickson Gracie
2002: Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Royce Gracie
2003: Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Royce Gracie 2
(2007: Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Royce Gracie 2)
2008: Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Roger Gracie

Pride GP Champion Vs. Shooto Champion! Misaki Vs. Bahadurzada

Two new fights have been announced for the first ever Sengoku event on March 5th. Kazuo Misaki, who comes from a NYE victory against Yoshihiro Akiyama, will take on Shooto Light Heavyweight champion Siyar Bahadurzada. In the other announced fight another NYE victor will participate as Makoto Takimoto goes up against Evangelista Cyborg.

Update: Kazuo Misaki vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama has now been ruled a no contest after Yarennoka! officials reviewed the fight. You can read more about it here. Sadaharu Tanigawa wants a rematch in Korea.

Sengoku I
Date: March 5th, 2008
Place: National Yoyogi Stadium in Tokyo, Japan

Fights:
Phil Baroni vs. Sanae Kikuta
Kazuo Misaki vs. Siyar Bahadurzada
Makoto Takimoto vs. Evangelista Cyborg

Participants:
Hidehiko Yoshida
Ryo Kawamura

Rumored Fights:
Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Roger Gracie

Possible Participants:
Fabricio Monteiro

Baroni Vs. Kikuta Not 100%! Fabricio Monteiro Signed?

It was reported yesterday by MMAWeekly that Ken Pavia, Baroni’s manager, has said that the fight between Baroni and Kikuta, which was announced by WVR for their first ever event, has not been signed yet.

In another article at Sherdog it is said that Brazilian Fabricio Monteiro has signed a four-fight contract with WVR.

Update: Seems that the fight is set after all.

Sengoku I
Date: March 5th, 2008
Place: National Yoyogi Stadium in Tokyo, Japan

Fights:
Phil Baroni vs. Sanae Kikuta

Participants:
Hidehiko Yoshida
Kazuo Misaki
Makoto Takimoto
Ryo Kawamura
Siyar Bahadurzada
Evangelista Cyborg

Possible Participants:
Fabricio Monteiro

First Sengoku Fight Ever Announced! Misaki Signed!!

Phil Baroni vs. Sanae Kikuta has been announced for Sengoku on March 5th in Tokyo. Baroni said before that he had received an offer from World Victory Road and it seems that he took it.

Kazuo Misaki who defeated Yoshihiro Akiyama on NYE has also been signed by WVR and will participate in the first event, no opponent named yet.

Sengoku I
Date: March 5th, 2008
Place: National Yoyogi Stadium in Tokyo, Japan

Fights:
Phil Baroni vs. Sanae Kikuta

Participants:
Hidehiko Yoshida
Kazuo Misaki
Makoto Takimoto
Ryo Kawamura
Siyar Bahadurzada
Evangelista Cyborg

Rumor! DREAMS To Replace HERO’S?

Gryphon reports that according to an article by a famous Pro-Wrestling and MMA journalist in Japan:

K-1& former PRIDE is united

New Event name is”DREAMS”!

K-1(FEG)have right of TV broadcasting income

DSE’s new company have a right of house gate income

MAEDA Akira will leave HERO’S….(“HERO’S” will be finished,change to DREAMS)

Is it scoop? or rumor?

And yesterday there was another article on another site saying that the ex-DSE staff are going to make a new company, will this company unite with FEG or not? We’ll have to wait and see.