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Roger Gracie Fights Hidehiko Yoshida in March 5th |
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Written by Deadly Hooks
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Thursday, 24 January 2008 |
 Possibly the fight that should of taken place all those years ago rather than the contest Yoshida had with Royce. This time the Olympiad Yoshida faces arguably the worlds number one grappler in the event titled Sengoku at the Yoyogi First National Gymnasium. Sengoku is the brain child of the newly formed mixed martial arts promotional company World Victory Road Inc.
CURRENT "SENGOKU" FIGHT CARD:
Phil Baroni vs. Sanae Kikuta Makoto Takimoto vs. Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos Kazuo Misaki vs. Siyar Bahadurzada Roger Gracie vs. Hidehiko Yoshida Ryo Kawamura vs. TBA QUOTE
Naoya Kinoshita, CEO for WVR, introduced the name
"Sengoku" saying that it was selected from the 10,211 fan submissions
of the event name. The word Sengoku consists of two Chinese characters
"Sen" and "Goku" with "Sen" literally translating into "Fight" and
"Goku" into "Master."
The brand new name suits perfectly with
the concept of the event, which Kinoshita described as "a place for
masters of martial artists to show their spirit and pride to compete
for the strongest in the world."
"We want the passion for MMA to
return to Japan because this is where the sport began. We were looking
for a name that symbolizes Japan," he added.
Other names that were taken into consideration of the new event were Bushido, Samurai, and Spirit.
Fighters
who will be participating in the Sengoku show in March were in
attendance. Among those were Hidehiko Yoshida (Pictures), Sanae Kikuta
(Pictures), Makoto Takimoto (Pictures), and Ryo Kawamura (Pictures).
All four fighters said they appreciated the offer from the new
organization.
"I am glad to have this opportunity. I want to
bring back the passion for MMA," said Yoshida. Kikuta followed by
saying "GRABAKA has made sensations in various rings. We want to create
another sensation at Sengoku."
Takimoto calmly insisted that he
wishes to fight with enthusiasm for fans to enjoy. Kawamura, although
he showed his appreciation for the offer, said he would like to
concentrate on his scheduled fight at Pancrase on Dec. 22.
Fights
for their first show will be announced at a later date. Kinoshita said
negotiations are underway with other top class Japanese and foreign
fighters.
No contracts will be exclusive with Sengoku, allowing fighters to compete in various organizations.
"I
want the fighter to have many opportunities," Kinoshita commented. "We
would like to have fighters who are fighting in other rings to fight at
Sengoku. At the same token, we want to see Sengoku fighters to be able
to compete in other places as well."
Sengoku promoters are
planning to set up championship fights for each weight class in 2008.
Television deals and sponsors are in the works but nothing was made
public.
Sengoku will consist of a total of six weight classes:
Heavyweight (205 pounds and above)
Light Heavyweight (205 pounds)
Middleweight (183 pounds)
Welterweight (167 pounds)
Lightweight (149.9 pounds)
Featherweight (132 pounds)
"I
understand 65 kg (143 pounds) or 70 kg (154 pounds) is the familiar"
limit for lightweight, said Kinoshita. "I would like to see Japanese
fighters flourish and to do so we needed to put a lot of insights in
setting the proper weight class. Even though the lightweight division
is currently set up at 68 kg, we are planning to add weight classes in
the future. Therefore we may shift to the accustomed weight class."
General rules for the event will be a mix between North America's Unified Rules and PRIDE as well as HERO'S regulations.
Fights
will consist of three five-minute rounds except for championship bouts,
which will be five rounds. Knees on the ground and stomping will be
permitted while elbows and "soccer" kicks will not be allowed under any
circumstances.
Kinoshita mentioned that the rules were made
after discussions with Tomiaki Fukuda, president of the Japan Mixed
Martial Arts Federation, and various fighters as to what should and
should not be permitted to bring out the best of fighting.
Yoshida
and Kikuta explained that a five-minute round suits them better than
the 10-minute round once used by PRIDE because the fighters would not
have to save stamina and fight tentatively in longer rounds.
Five Sengoku shows are scheduled for 2008. Dates and venues will be announced at later date.
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