MMA News Thread

[Shogun Locc]

The Original Super High School Student! Looking Solid At Lightweight

“Original Super High School Student”/”Former Super High School Student”/”Helper” Tetsuya Yamada held an open training session at the reversal MMA gym in Tokyo today.

Yamada who will have his first MMA fight at Lightweight later this month says that when he was a student (he graduated earlier this year) he could only train for 2 hours, 4-5 days a week. Entering the working world, he now trains for 3 hours, 6 days a week.

“Was it visible that I was exhausted in the second half of the Ronnie Mann fight? At that time I lost 13 kg before the fight but this time I only have around 4 kg left to reach the limit. I have mainly strengthened my stamina.”

He showed this stamina as he sparred MMA and grappling for 2×4 minutes without any moments of being out of breath.

“I have watched Maxi’s fight with Inoue 100 times on video. Maxi is a fighter who comes forth before the sound of the bell, so I have no choice but to go forward as well.”

He also talked like it would be a fight with many blows and revealed that he has prepared a couple of special knockdown techniques for the fight.

Fellow Team ZST member and SENGOKU champion Masanori Kanehara was also present and said good things about Maxi.

Yamada has become influenced of same generation pro golfer Ryo Ishikawa (17 year old, very popular in Japan) in recent times. “I also want to continue winning and become famous”.

 

[B-Buzz]

Royler: “BJJ is already bigger than MMA”

Neo Samurai begs to differ

 

[Shogun Locc]

Lawal-Randleman In the Works for Sengoku

Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal and Kevin Randleman are in discussions to meet in a light heavyweight bout on Nov. 7 at Sengoku “Eleventh Battle” at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, according to sources close to both camps.

Lawal, a NCAA Div. 1 All-American wrestling champion for Oklahoma State in 2003 and decorated international competitor, quickly finished a past-his-prime Mark Kerr in only 25 seconds at M-1 “Breakthrough” on Aug. 28. He will look to keep his perfect record intact against the former UFC heavyweight champion.

Lawal’s manager, Ryan Parsons, informed Sherdog.com Thursday that they have received a contract and are in the process of looking it over. Parsons added that he was under the impression that Strikeforce, which appears to have a contract with Randleman, would have to approve Randleman’s participation before the bout could be finalized.

A source close to Randleman’s Hammer House team confirmed to Sherdog.com that the 38-year-old former Ohio State wrestler would indeed be facing Lawal. The source did not have any information about Strikeforce signing off on the fight.

Calls and text messages to multiple Strikeforce representatives were not immediately returned.

Lawal, 28, has had a successful run since making the move to mixed martial arts nearly a year ago. He has rattled off victories in all his five career fights while finishing four of his opponents. His only decision came after he tore his ACL in the first round of his match with Ryo Kawamura at Sengoku “Seventh Battle” last March.

Randleman, a former UFC and Pride standout, has had a rough go of it since 2003, managing only a 3-8 record over the past six-plus years. Randleman dropped a unanimous decision to fellow wrestler Mike Whitehead at Strikeforce “Lawler vs. Shields” on June 6 in St. Louis.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Buentello Out of Strikeforce, Likely to UFC

Paul Buentello has secured his release from Strikeforce and is negotiating a return to the Octagon, the former UFC heavyweight title contender told Sherdog.com.

Strikeforce President Scott Coker confirmed the news in an e-mail sent via company representative Mike Afromowitz.

“We offered Paul a six-figure contract to fight Fedor, but he turned it down,” Coker said. “His decision is understandable considering Fedor's level of skill but, at the same time, Paul didn't really fit into our plans. He's been a solid journeyman fighter and we wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.”

Buentello said the UFC would honor his Affliction contract -- which has one fight left -- and that they are negotiating an extension as well.

At 27-10 overall, the "Head Hunter" has run up a 12-2 record over the past six years with his only defeats coming in title matches against Andrei Arlovski and Alistair Overeem. The 35-year-old Texan was 3-1 in his first stint in the UFC.

“I've never been one to get involved in the politics of the sport,” Buentello wrote to Sherdog.com in an e-mail. “I have made as little as $1 to fight the UFC champion and been paid as much as six figures to fight an up-and-coming fighter. I'm not insulted at being regarded as a journeyman fighter either since I started my career as one. Training in my garage with no training partners, I started off with a handful of losses. I always wondered what I could do given the chance to train full time, and through a lot of sacrifices and sponsors that took a shot on me, I'm happy with the result. I've lost two times in six years with those loses coming to champions. Am I a gatekeeper or a journeyman? Well, if I'm a gatekeeper, any organization I compete in is going to have a thin heavyweight division. I've never claimed to be the best in the sport. But to say I turned down Fedor because of his skill level is a slap in the face.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Nate Marquardt vs. Dan Henderson Targeted for UFC 105 Main Event

UFC 105 may have found its main event.

FanHouse has learned that the UFC is looking to book a middleweight bout between Nate Marquardt and Dan Henderson for the Nov. 14 show at the Manchester Evening News Arena in Manchester, England. As of Thursday afternoon, though, official bout agreements had yet to be finalized.

The winner of this potential bout would likely receive another title shot against current middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Marquardt was last seen knocking out Demian Maia at UFC 102 in just 21 seconds, while Henderson defeated Michael Bisping via second-round knockout at UFC 100 in July.

Despite the fact that both men have already suffered losses to Silva in the past, they are clearly the top two contenders in the UFC's middleweight division. Marquardt lost to Silva via TKO at UFC 73 in July 2007. Since then, he has won four of five fights. Meanwhile, Henderson lost to Silva at UFC 82 via rear-naked choke submission. He has since rebounded to win his last three fights in a row.

MMA Bay first reported the possibility of the bout on Tuesday.

One of the potential holdups could be Henderson's current contract status with the UFC. Earlier this week, SI.com MMA writer Josh Gross tweeted that Henderson was a free agent and contract negotiations were characterized as "slow."

Other match-ups expected for the event include Bisping vs. Denis Kang, Dan Hardy vs. Dong Hyun Kim and James Wilks vs. Matt Brown. UFC 105 is scheduled to air via tape delay in the United States on Spike TV.

 

[Shogun Locc]

FRANK MIR VS CHEICK KONGO AGREED FOR UFC 107

Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir is set to return to the Octagon to face French striker Cheick Kongo. Sources close to the situation confirmed to MMAWeekly.com on Thursday that the fight is verbally agreed to, but bout agreements have not been signed.

Though recent reports suggested the bout could headline UFC 105 in Manchester, England, MMAWeekly.com sources indicated that it would take place on Dec. 12 at UFC 107 in Memphis, Tenn.

Mir (12-4) recently got knocked off the rails of a three-fight winning streak, losing his interim heavyweight champion designation in a title unification bout against champion Brock Lesnar at UFC 100. It was a rematch of their fight at UFC 81, where Mir welcomed the former WWE superstar to the Octagon by submitting him with a kneebar. He then won the interim designation when he became the first man to stop Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Kongo (14-5-1) was widely considered to be a step away from a UFC heavyweight title shot before he was unable to get out from under a smothering Cain Velasquez at UFC 99, losing a unanimous decision. Kongo has amassed a 7-3 record during his tenure with the UFC, winning three straight fights prior to the loss to Velasquez.

A bout pitting Ultimate Fighter 10 coaches Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Rashad Evans against each other was the original headline bout for UFC 107. That fight was recently supplanted by a UFC lightweight title defense, pitting champion B.J. Penn against Diego Sanchez.

Originally counting on Jackson’s hometown popularity, the TUF coaches were removed from the card when Jackson’s acting commitments to a Hollywood remake of popular 1980s television show “The A-Team” conflicted with the bout.

 

[Shogun Locc]

BELLATOR CHAMP ALVEREZ MAY GET DREAM FIGHT

A bout between Eddie Alvarez and Katsunori Kikuno is under consideration for Dream 12 on Oct. 25 in Osaka, MMAWeekly.com has learned from a source close to Alvarez.

Alvarez (20-2) took the last half of the summer off after defeating Greg Loughran, Eric Reynolds, and Toby Imada to win the lightweight title in the first season of Bellator Fighting Championships. He began training last month in preparation for his appearance on MTV’s “Bully Beatdown,” which aired Aug. 27 and stayed in the gym for a possible fall fight.

Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney last week told MMAWeekly.com that Alvarez was one of four Bellator champions he was currently trying to place in “different markets around the world.” Rebney looked to place a fighter from an outside promotion in Bellator’s second season in exchange for a Bellator champion’s one-off appearance in that show.

According to the source, Bellator is currently waiting to see the fighter Dream offers in exchange for Alvarez before signing off on the trade. Unclear at this point is the weight class an Alvarez vs. Kikuno bout would be contested at, as Rebney said he wished Alvarez to fight above his usual lightweight class.

Bellator matchmaker Matt Stansell said on Thursday afternoon that he’d “heard a rumor” of the bout, but had received no recent correspondence from Dream officials.

Kikuno (12-1-1) recently made a successful transition to Dream after an extended stint in Deep, defeating Chute Boxe product Andre “Dida” Amade by TKO at Dream 10 in July.

 

[B-Buzz]

holy shit!

Lil Nog vs. Banha Cane Set for UFC 105

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira is set make his Octagon debut against Luis Arthur Cane in a light heavyweight bout at UFC 105 on Nov. 14 in Manchester, England, according to multiple sources close to the negotiations.

Sources said the Brazilian pair have verbally agreed to the bout and are awaiting written agreements.

Noguiera, the twin brother of former UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo, is on a five-fight win streak and submitted Dion Staring with a third-round triangle choke in his last outing for Jungle Fight in May. The 33-year-old Nogueira also appeared in Affliction’s two U.S. events, earning technical knockouts over Edwin Dewees and Vladimir Matyushenko.

Cane, 28, and his crowd-pleasing striking has steadily gained momentum through his last three UFC opponents, taking TKO victories over Jason Lambert and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and a hard-fought unanimous decision over Steve Cantwell at UFC 97 “Redemption” last April in Montreal.

---
This fight's gonna be badass

 

[Shogun Locc]

UFC 103 official fighter weigh-ins held Sept. 18 at Dallas Convention Center Arena

With the American Airlines Center, which is the host of UFC 103, already booked, the preceding official fighter weigh-ins instead take place at the Dallas Convention Center Arena.

The weigh-ins, set for Friday, Sept. 18, begin at 4 p.m. CT local time (5 p.m. ET) and are free and open to the public. Doors open at 3 p.m. CT.

As usual you can watch a live stream of the festivities here on MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), which will also have live results and images of the event posted throughout the evening.

The weigh-ins take place on the east side of the Dallas Convention Center Arena (known as the A-section), which is located at 650 S. Griffin St.

Members of the UFC Fight Club, which is the organization's official fan club, can head to the convention center early for a Q&A session with UFC veteran Tito Ortiz. The session takes place from 2-3 p.m. CT.

Additionally, an official autograph session takes place at the venue from 1 to 3 p.m. CT with UFC fighters Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Diego Sanchez, Jake Rosholt, Jon Fitch and Mike Swick. The signing event is also free and open to the public.

UFC 103, which features a main event of Rich Franklin vs. Vitor Belfort and a co-headliner of Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs. Junior Dos Santos, begins Saturday, Sept. 19 at 6:20 p.m. ET (5:20 p.m. CT). A two-fight live broadcast of the prelims begins at 9 p.m. ET on Spike TV, and the night's pay-per-view broadcast kicks off at 10 p.m. ET. Doors to American Airlines Center open at 5:50 p.m. ET.

The finalized UFC 103 line-up includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)

* Vitor Belfort vs. Rich Franklin
* Junior Dos Santos vs. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic
* Paul Daley vs. Martin Kampmann
* Josh Koscheck vs. Frank Trigg
* Hermes Franca vs. Tyson Griffin

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV)

* Efrain Escudero vs. Cole Miller
* Tomasz Drwal vs. Drew McFedries

PRELIMINARY CARD (Un-aired)

* Steve Lopez vs. Jim Miller
* Nick Lentz vs. Rafaello Oliveira
* Brian Foster vs. Rick Story
* Jason Brilz vs. Eliot Marshall
* Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Igor Pokrajac
* Rafael dos Anjos vs. Rob Emerson

 

[Shogun Locc]

Middleweight champ Jorge Santiago and Kevin Randleman set for Nov. 7 Sengoku 11th Battle

World Victory Road today announced a handful of participants for its Sengoku 11th Battle event, including Sengoku middleweight champion Jorge Santiago, ex-UFC champ Kevin Randleman and former UFC fighter Michihiro Omigawa.

The event, expected to air on HDNet in North America, takes place Nov. 7 at Ryogoku Kokugikan, a 13,000-seat arena in Tokyo, Japan.

No opponents were revealed for any of the competitors.

Santiago (21-7) enters the upcoming event with a nine-fight win streak, which included victories for the Strikeforce 185-pound title (in 2007) and the Sengoku middleweight belt (in January). The American Top Team fighter had been slated to fight Vitor Belfort before "Affliction: Trilogy" ultimately was canceled just days before its scheduled Aug. 1 event date.

A Sengoku 10th Battle fight (Sept. 23) between Joe Doerksen (42-12) and Takenori Sato (9-6-4) could determined Santiago's title challenger.

Randleman (17-13), a former UFC heavyweight champion, recently returned from a 13-month layoff to compete at a June 6 Strikeforce event. Randleman, though, suffered a unanimous decision loss to Mike Whitehead after running out of stream midway through the three-round fight. Randleman, once of the world's most dominant fighters, is now just 3-8 since 2003.

One opponent reportedly possible for Randleman is undefeated Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal (5-0), who went 4-0 for WVR before a recent first-round TKO of Mark Kerr at the Aug. 28 "M-1: Breakthrough" event.

Omigawa (7-8-1), meanwhile, returns to the ring for the first time since his runner-up finish in WVR's featherweight grand prix. At the event's finale on Aug. 2, Omigawa suffered a split-decision loss to Masanori Kanehara.

Prior to the loss, Omigawa strung together a solid three-fight win streak over the likes of L.C. Davis, Nam Phan and Marlon Sandro in the tournament's earlier rounds.

Although initially expected to compete at Sengoku 11th Battle, highly touted Satoshi Ishii, a Japanese gold medalist at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games' Judo competition, instead is now expected to make his pro MMA debut at the organization's year-end card.

 

[Shogun Locc]

GURGEL VS EVANGELISTA HEADS STRIKEFORCE NOV. 6

A previously reported lightweight bout between Jorge Gurgel (13-5) and undefeated Billy Evangelista (9-0), originally expected to take place Oct. 25, instead is slotted for Nov. 6 at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif.

The organization today officially announced the event, which airs on Showtime under the "Strikeforce Challengers" banner.

California lightweight Casey Olson (11-3) was also announced as an event participant, though his opponent has not been determined.

Gurgel, who signed with Strikeforce late last year after his release from the UFC, made his promotional debut in June with a unanimous-decision victory over Conor Heun. Earlier this summer, he announced via Twitter that he would fight Evangelista on Oct. 25. Last week Strikeforce officials could not immediately confirm the new Nov. 6 date when contacted by MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

However, official announcement came today.

Gurgel, a 32-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, looks to improve his standing in Strikeforce's 155-pound division when he meets Evangelista, who joined Strikeforce in just his second pro fight in 2007. The well-rounded fighter had suffered his first career loss in May after unloading an accidental illegal knee that caught opponent Mike Aina. However, the California State Athletic Commission recently overturned the loss to a no-contest, primarily because replays of the blow showed that it never landed to Aina's head.

Either Gurgel or Evangelista could move into serious title contention with a victory at the November show.

Olson, meanwhile, returns to Strikeforce for the first time in three years. The Palace Fighting Championships and WEC veteran defeated Bobby Sanchez at Strikeforce's October 2006 "Tank vs. Buentello" show. After posting a four-fight win streak, Olson recently suffered a first-round submission loss to Eddie Yagin at PFC 13 in May.

Tickets for the "Strikeforce Challengers: Gurgel vs. Evangelista" event go on sale to the general public on Sept. 21 at 1 p.m. ET. However, Strikeforce.com newsletter subscribers will get a presale code on Sept. 14 that allows them to purchase tickets on Sept. 16 at 1 p.m. ET. Additionally, anyone who purchases a ticket from Sept. 16 to Sept. 27 receives a free 17" by 23" limited-edition Strikeforce collector's poster.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Matthew Riddle vs. Nick Osipczak targeted for UFC 105 prelims in November

A welterweight fight between Matthew Riddle (3-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) and fellow undefeated fighter and "The Ultimate Fighter" cast member Nick Osipczak (4-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) takes place in November at UFC 105.

A source close to one of the fighters today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) bout agreements are in the process of being finalized. Fighters Only reported on Tuesday that Osipczak was likely for the card, though his opponent wasn't immediately known.

UFC 105 takes place Nov. 14 at MEN Arena in Manchester, England, and airs via tape delay on Spike TV.

The Riddle vs. Osipczak fight is expected to be part of the night's un-aired preliminary card.

Riddle, a cast member on "The Ultimate Fighter 7," made his pro debut with the UFC at the show's live finale in June 2008. The former state high school wrestling champion has since posted three consecutive unanimous-decision wins over Dante Rivera, Steve Bruno and Daniel Cramer.

Osipczak, meanwhile, returns for his second UFC fight. After falling to DaMarques Johnson in the semifinals of "The Ultimate Fighter 9," Osipczak earned a submission win over Frank Lester at the season's live finale to earn a UFC contract.

The latest UFC 105 line-up includes:

* Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. TBA*
* Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang
* Dan Hardy vs. Dong Hyun Kim
* Matt Brown vs. James Wilks*
* John Hathaway vs. Paul Taylor*
* Terry Etim vs. Shannon Gugerty*
* Ross Pearson vs. Aaron Riley*
* Nick Osipczak vs. Matthew Riddle*
* DaMarques Johnson vs. Peter Sobotta*
* Roli Delgado vs. Andre Winner*

* - Not officially announced

 

[Shogun Locc]

Izumi vs. Nansen headlines, Silva vs. York co-headlines Sengoku 10th Battle on Sept. 23

World Victory Road today revealed the finalized 11-bout lineup for this month's Sengoku 10th Battle event.

Headlining the show is a light-heavyweight fight between Judo champion and MMA newcomer Hiroshi Izumi (0-0) and fellow first-time MMA pro and veteran kickboxer Antz Nansen (0-0). Additionally, EliteXC veteran Antonio Silva (12-1) meets "Big" Jim York (11-2) in the night's co-main event.

The Sept. 23 event takes place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and airs on HDNet in North American.

Sengoku 10th Battle marks the first time WVR has featured two MMA newcomers in a main-event fight.

In addition to the headliners and co-headliners, the upcoming show features a number of notables from the North American fight circuit, including Ryan Schultz, Nick Thompson, Joe Doerksen and Dan Hornbuckle.

The full line-up includes:

* Hiroshi Izumi vs. Antz Nansen
* Antonio Silva vs. Jim York
* Jae Sun Lee vs. Makoto Takimoto
* Ryan Schultz vs. Kazunori Yokota
* Ryo Kawamura vs. Fabio Silva
* Dan Hornbuckle vs. Nick Thompson
* Joe Doerksen vs. Takenori Sato
* Maximo Blanco vs. Tetsuya Yamada
* Baek Woo Hyun vs. Ikuo Usuda
* Kim Ki Hyun vs. Shigeki Osawa
* So Jee Hyun vs. Ryosuke Komori

 

[Shogun Locc]

FRANK MIR VS CHEICK KONGO AGREED FOR UFC 107

Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir is set to return to the Octagon to face French striker Cheick Kongo. Sources close to the situation confirmed to MMAWeekly.com on Thursday that the fight is verbally agreed to, but bout agreements have not been signed.

Though recent reports suggested the bout could headline UFC 105 in Manchester, England, MMAWeekly.com sources indicated that it would take place on Dec. 12 at UFC 107 in Memphis, Tenn.

Mir (12-4) recently got knocked off the rails of a three-fight winning streak, losing his interim heavyweight champion designation in a title unification bout against champion Brock Lesnar at UFC 100. It was a rematch of their fight at UFC 81, where Mir welcomed the former WWE superstar to the Octagon by submitting him with a kneebar. He then won the interim designation when he became the first man to stop Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Kongo (14-5-1) was widely considered to be a step away from a UFC heavyweight title shot before he was unable to get out from under a smothering Cain Velasquez at UFC 99, losing a unanimous decision. Kongo has amassed a 7-3 record during his tenure with the UFC, winning three straight fights prior to the loss to Velasquez.

A bout pitting Ultimate Fighter 10 coaches Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Rashad Evans against each other was the original headline bout for UFC 107. That fight was recently supplanted by a UFC lightweight title defense, pitting champion B.J. Penn against Diego Sanchez.

Originally counting on Jackson’s hometown popularity, the TUF coaches were removed from the card when Jackson’s acting commitments to a Hollywood remake of popular 1980s television show “The A-Team” conflicted with the bout.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Nate Quarry: ‘You don’t become a legend by winning decisions’

You don’t become a legend by winning decisions. That’s what fans want to see, that’s what gets you bonuses, that’s what feeds my family. I’ve seen a lot of fighters stay in the UFC with losing records because they were such exciting fighters who put it on line. I think that’s what fans pay to see, want to see and relate to. On any given day, I’m going to bring the best game I possibly have. At least I can say, ‘Win or lose, I did the best I could. What else I could have done?’ That allows me to sleep at night.

 

[Shogun Locc]

UFC Quick Quote: Paul ‘Semtex’ Daley respects Martin Kampmann — but still plans on knocking him out

“Some fighters in his position wouldn’t have wanted to fight another opponent instead of Swick. I am getting a lot of praise for stepping in, but he’s done the same. He was due to fight in a massive bout and the winner was expected to get a title shot. Beating me at this point doesn’t guarantee him a title shot, but he wants to fight anyway. But that’s why I respect Kampmann … This is going to be a war while it lasts but I will knock Kampmann out.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Jim Wallhead vs. Che Mills set for Knuckle Up 3: Knuckle-Up At The Manor

A welterweight bout between top prospects Jim Wallhead and Che Mills is expected for Knuckle Up 3: Knuckle-Up At The Manor.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com has been able to confirm through sources close to the fight that the bout has been agreed to, with bout agreements expected to be signed shortly.

The event is expected to take place on November 1 from the Celtic Manor Hotel and Resort in Newport, Wales.

Jim “Judo” Wallhead is widely regarded as a first round draft pick at 170 pounds for any of the major promotions such as the UFC or Strikeforce. Having won nine of his last ten bouts, and currently sporting a career record of 17-5 with thirteen finishes to his credit, Wallhead is well known for his crowd pleasing style of fighting. The Judo specialist trains alongside UFC fighters such as Dan Hardy and Paul Daley at Team Rough House in Nottingham, England.

Mutually respected as premier rising talent in the sport, Mills holds a professional record of 9-2 and hasn’t suffered a defeat in his last nine trips to the cage. A pair of wins over the extremely dangerous Marius Zaromskis and eight finishes in nine victories tell you that the Mills would be a threat in any promotion that he chose to compete at.

 

[Shogun Locc]

SENGOKU New Years Event! September 11th Press Conference

Today it was reported on Sponichi (among others?) that Satoshi Ishii’s debut will be on SENGOKU’s new years event. It was also reported that the event will take place at the Ariake Colosseum.

WVR PR Kokuho held a press conference at the J-ROCK workout studio today where he talked about the event and a lot of other future SENGOKU plans.

He said that the date and venue of the new years event aren’t set yet despite the above reports. He wants to hold it either on December 31st (head to head with Dynamite!!) or January 3rd. He also said that he hopes Ishii will make his debut at the event and that potential opponents are Hidehiko Yoshida or a foreign fighter.

About Japanese fighters participating in the event, Kokuho plans to include Satoshi Ishii, Hidehiko Yoshida, Lightweight champion Mizuto Hirota, Featherweight champion Masanori Kanehara, and former Lightweight champion Satoru Kitaoka.

The opponent of Omigawa, who held an open training session at the press conference today, will probably be Marlon Sandro or Hatsu Hioki and the winner will probably face Kanehara for the belt on the new years event.

Kokuho is also currently thinking about putting on a Featherweight fight between a new Japanese Featherweight in SENGOKU and a champion/veteran foreigner at SENGOKU XI (Yuji Hoshino vs. Pequeno?).

The winner of Takenori Sato and Joe Doerksen at SENGOKU X is the closest candidate to being Jorge Santiago’s opponent at SENGOKU XI.

The opponent of Randleman will most likely by King Mo, Xande Ribeiro, or possibly Hiroshi Izumi if he wins at SENGOKU X.

Winners of the SENGOKU X opening fights could get their first real SENGOKU fights at SENGOKU XI.

If Yokota defeats Schultz via submission or KO, they want to hold Yokota vs. Mitsuoka at SENGOKU XI (tough road to a title fight for Yokota). Another article reports that the winner of the Yokota/Schultz fight will probably face Eiji Mitsuoka at SENGOKU XI (nothing about KO/submission).

Kokuho said that they already have 14-15 fights that they can make and all of them are main class fight.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Calvan Vs. Nakamura Off?!

Wrestling Observer reports that J.Z. Calvan has sustained another injury and will not be able to face Daisuke Nakamura at DREAM.11 in October.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Trigg Mends Fences with UFC Brass

Frank Trigg said he’d rather crash and burn in the UFC’s stacked welterweight division, which is why the outspoken fighter begged the promotion to give him another shot in the Octagon.

Trigg, 37, who ruffled the feathers of UFC brass as a commentator for the now-dormant rival Pride Fighting Championships, meets the well-rounded Josh Koscheck at UFC 103 on Sept. 19 in Dallas.

“I could run around all the other organizations and talk about how good I should be in the welterweight division if I were the UFC,” said Trigg, who fought for the UFC 170-pound title in 2003 and 2005. “I’d rather run against the wall and just die and fade out than not have the opportunity to try at all.”

The always-candid Trigg describes his good-will talks with UFC owners Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana White, and tells us why he’s minding his P’s and Q’s from here on out.

videolink:http://www.sherdog.com/videos/recent/Trigg-Mends-Fences-with-UFC-Brass-2057