Sengoku XI Results & Fight Card

Sengoku XI took place on November 7, 2009 and was live from the Ryogoku Kokugikan Hall in Tokyo, Japan, with a live broadcast to viewers on HDNet. All of the Sengoku 11 results are listed below now that the fights are complete.

Ronnie Mann vs. Shigeki Osawa

The first HDNet televised bout saw promising Japanese Amateur Wrestler Shigeki Osawa engage in a three round battle with Ronnie Mann. As expected, Mann’s experience played a huge factor in the fight outpointing Osawa on all three judges’ cards. Mann was active and fought a very smart fight. Impressively, it was Mann that was on top of the wrestler Osawa a few times. While on top, Mann did not cause much damage but scored points with the shots landed. Naturally, Osawa did not offer much in terms of submissions from on his back but tried readily to escape as best he could. The time Mann did spend on his back he was working for submissions. Mann also took Osawa’s back a couple times during the fight. Getting taken down by Mann really put a sour note on things for Osawa. On the feet there was not a ton of clean strikes but Mann got the better of it. Osawa landed a couple of punches but nothing to really turn the tide of the fight. A small flurry of strikes in round three led to him getting taken down again. Osawa gets the first loss of his young career. This should be a sign for him to fight some opponents he can use to tune up his skills on. For Mann, he improves to 17-2-1 and gets a win on the board after being submitted by Hatsu Hioki.

Dave Herman vs. Jim York

Dave Herman and Jim York engaged in a strange bout at Sengoku XI, mostly in part due to the way it ended. The fight opened up with York throwing bombs leading to a Herman takedown. York eventually got out from the bottom and continued with a barrage. Herman fell down off an attempted kick allowing York to quickly drop back for a leglock while standing above Herman. Herman dropped heavy shots with his heel on the face of York while York was trying to work the leg. York was left unconscious. The end of the fight came at 2:25 of the first round. Herman goes to 16-1 getting his first Sengoku win since losing to Mu Bae Choi. York suffers his second straight loss in Sengoku dropping his record to 11-4.

Marlon Sandro vs. Yuji Hoshino

A battle of champions took place at Sengoku XI when Featherweight King of PANCRASE Marlon Sandro battled Cage Force Featherweight champion Yuji Hoshino. It ended in a very anticlimactic way, having the potential to be a great fight between two top featherweights. Marlon Sandro put Hoshino on the canvas with punches at 2:33 of round number one. Sandro showed dominance in the striking but more importantly stuffed Yuji Hoshino’s trip takedown attempts. If he didn’t stop Hoshino’s takedowns the entire complexion of the fight would have changed. Hoshino is capable of fighting better and should receive another fight in Sengoku. Another very good win for Sandro, reiterating that he is in fact one of the best featherweights in Sengoku. Sandro improves to 15-1 while Hoshino falls to 16-7-7 receiving his first loss since late 2004.

Akihiro Gono vs. Yoon Young Kim

Akihiro Gono’s post Dan Hornbuckle headkick debut saw him fight for fifteen minutes with lanky Korean Yoon Young Kim.  Surprising to most Gono entered the ring with no flashy entrance and meaning business. The first two rounds of this fight saw a patient Gono. Picking his spots, he was getting the better of Kim on the feet and on the ground. In the third round Gono opened up on Kim. Teeing off with strikes on the feet sealed the deal for a unanimous decision win. The combinations Gono threw throughout the fight, mixing up kicks and punches, were nicely done. Gono got on his bike when necessary striking at the right moments. Perhaps we will see a new focused all business version of Gono in the future. Also worth noting after the fight Gono delivered a message to Dan Hornuckle in near perfect English. Gono revealed he had been training hard since Hornbuckle defeated him. Gono added he would like a rematch next year with Hornbuckle. Gono’s english was almost as impressive as his win. Gono is now 30-15-7 and expressed in his speech he’d like to be the first challenger to the Welterweight Belt. On the flip side Yoon Young Kim now goes to 12-5 in his career.

Kevin Randleman vs. Stanislav Nedkov

Fellow wrestlers Stanislav Nedkov and Kevin Randleman traded takedowns for fifteen minutes in their fight at Sengoku XI. The end result, a controversial split decision in favor of the Bulgarian Nedkov. The story of the fight was just as most thought it would be, a takedown battle. In the first round Randleman worked his game from on top securing the takedowns. The second round Nedkov obtained an early takedown leading eventually to a reversal by Randleman. Later in the same round Randleman landed on top again. This time Randleman was reversed and taken down near the closing of the round. In the last round Nedkov acquired a couple of takedowns which may have swayed the judges to his side. On the feet there was not much decisive action by either man. In terms of damage from on top both men had their moments. Largely due to the similar styles of both men, this was a very close fight. Randleman falls to 17-14 with his second straight loss since returning to action. Nedkov stays unbeaten in Sengoku and overall at 10-0.

Kazunori Yokota vs. Eiji Mitsuoka

Kazunori Yokota and Eiji Mitsuoka squared off in all three rounds in a fight that had Sengoku lightweight title implications. Both men did not fight to their potential. They can and have shown much better in their careers. Kazunori Yokota recieves the unanimous decision nod due to his work in the second and third rounds. The opening round involved Eiji getting on Yokota’s back a few times and reversing Yokota when he was on the bottom. The second and third rounds Yokota fought more like himself where he was able to outstrike Mitsuoka. Yokota had the better of the grappling. Yokota either landed on top or defended takedowns in the clinch. Eiji clinched Yokota against the ropes numerous times . There was not much Eiji could do in the last two rounds. Although the first round was not good for Yokota, he rebounded pretty well. Yokota now sets himself up for a title shot in a rematch against champion Mizuto Hirota on New Year’s Eve. He is now 11-2-3 while Eiji falls to 16-7-2. Eiji now will have to climb back towards a possible title shot.

Satoru Kitaoka vs. Jorge Masvidal

One of the most fascinating fights of Sengoku XI, “Gamebred” Jorge Masvidal took on former Sengoku lightweight champion Satoru Kitaoka. Before the fight Masvidal made headlines at the press conference comparing Kitaoka to an Oompa Loompa. As for the actual fight, Masvidal weathered the submission storm and won via TKO at 3:23 of round two. The problem with Kitaoka is that he has become too predictable in his approach. He goes for a takedown then for leglocks or guillotines. If he does not get a submission in the opening stages of the fight then his questionable gas tank comes into play. When Kitaoka first came to Sengoku not many knew him. In many ways he was one of the best kept secrets of Japanese MMA.  Once he won the belt this all started to change. He is a much better submission artist all around having much more weapons than leglocks and guillotines. If he would use his entire submission arsenal and work on his gas tank he will show much better. The fight opened up with Kitaoka getting a takedown and locking up some footlocks which Masvidal defended and answered with punches. In the second stanza, Kitaoka once again scored a takedown and looked for footlocks. Kitaoka, taking punches and by having his submissions defended, gassed out allowing Masvidal to tee off and finish him. A perfect fight for Masvidal. Fighting exactly how he should have by defending Kitaoka's attack and utilizing his striking game, the attacking Kitaoka hard gassed him out. Masvidal attacked harder when Kitaoka became tired. Kitaoka’s career record drops to 25-10-9 with two straight losses for the first time ever. Masvidal emerges as a possible challenger for the lightweight strap with this win improving to 19-4.

Mamed Khalidov vs. Jorge Santiago

Another strange but exciting ending to a Sengoku XI bout took place when Sengoku Middleweight Champion took on Mamed Khalidov in a non-title fight. The stoppage came due to strikes from the bottom by Mamed Khalidov in round one. The fight was more or less a feeling out process by both men for a little over a minute. They clinched up. Santiago took down Mamed off a leg trip. Santiago was working in Mamed’s half guard. Mamed rolled to his side forcing Santiago to reposition himself in Mamed’s guard. Mamed struck upwards with several hammerfists to Santiagos face, stunning him. Mamed got up and followed up his onslaught with more punches to the grounded Santiago, leading to a stop. A very big win for Mamed Khalidov, in his Sengoku debut. This was of course a non title fight so the belt stays with Santiago. Who knows if a rematch for the belt will follow now. Not to rain on Mamed’s parade but Santiago does not have the best chin, which may have played a part in the result of the fight. With this loss, Santiago’s storied stellar run of nine straight victories by stoppage comes to an end. His record goes to 21-8. Mamed Khalidov boosts his record up to 20-3-1 with the MMA world buzzing after this upset.

Hatsu Hioki vs. Michihiro Omigawa

The main event of Sengoku XI pitted together two great featherweights. Each hopes to challenge Masanori Kanehara for the Sengoku Feathweight Title on New Year’s Eve.  The underdog story of 2009, Michihiro Omigawa took on one of the established best featherweights in the world, Hatsu Hioki. The fight was very close and extremely controversial due to the acquisitions most fans have of Sengoku judges giving Omigawa favorable judging. Michihiro Omigawa defeated Hatsu Hioki by split decision. To be fair, the fight was a close one. Hioki honestly could have fought much better. The story of many fights in Sengoku XI was fighters not fighting to their potential. In the first round, Omigawa was aggressive in striking. He landed a few punches but more importantly the aggression scored with the judges. Hioki had the better of the grappling in the first round securing a takedown. Working on top and taking Omigawa’s back led to an attempted armbar near the end of the round. In the second round both men landed shots while standing up. Again, Omigawa was the aggressor which played a factor on the judge’s scores. Hioki executed a takedown in the round though not doing much with it. Omigawa struck well from the bottom. The striking in round three was much the same. Omigawa came forward aggressively. Both men landed. Personally, watching it live I thought Hioki had won. Upon reviewing I can see why the judges gave it to Omigawa. More criticism will descend upon Sengoku for this. First Omigawa gets a favorable call over Sandro. Now many feel he received another favorable call against Hioki. Although, this fight was much closer than his fight with Sandro. What adds to some fans questioning is Sengoku president Takahiro Kokuho also heads J-ROCK, Yoshida Dojo’s management company. Omigawa is a member of Yoshida Dojo. This theory of why Omigawa gets favorable calls lost most of its weight in my eyes when Masanori Kanehara was given the decision over Omigawa. Calling Sengoku corrupt may be a little too over the top. It is something for fans to point the finger too easily. The truth is Omigawa’s aggressiveness plays into the scoring, especially on the judges must win scorecard. The must win scorecard allows the judges, in case of a draw, to choose one fighter who they think “must win.” Aggressiveness is a major criteria on the must win scorecard. Some will say Sengoku judges judge aggressiveness too highly. I would be hard pressed to argue. With his win Omigawa moves to 8-8-1 looking to be in line for a possible rematch with Kanehara for the belt. Hioki suffered a rare loss falling to 20-4-2.

By Curt Meyer
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer

Main Sengoku 11 Results:

• Marlon Sandro defeats Yuji Hoshino by KO (Punches) - Round 1

• Akihiro Gono defeats Yoon Young Kim by Unanimous Decision

• Stanislav Nedkov defeats Kevin Randleman by Split Decision

• Mamed Khalidov defeats Jorge Santiago by TKO (Strikes) - Round 1

More Sengoku 11 Results:

• Michihiro Omigawa defeats Hatsu Hioki by Split Decision

• Ronnie "Ushiwaka" Mann defeats Shigeki Osawa by Unanimous Decision

• Kazunori Yokota defeats Eiji Mitsuoka by Unanimous Decision

• Jorge Masvidal defeats Satoru Kitaoka by KO (Punches) - Round 2

• Dave Herman defeats Jim York by KO (Kicks) - Round 1

• Tomoaki Ueyama defeats Hirokazu "Bull" Konno via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) - Round 1

• Ryota Uozomi defeats Yuichiro Yajima via Submission (Armbar) - Round 1