Hirota Vacates Sengoku Title; Kanehara to Defend Belt at Sengoku 13

Mizuto Hirota will vacate the Sengoku lightweight belt due to his arm/shoulder injury at the hands of DREAM titleholder Shinya Aoki at Dynamite!! 2009, Hirota announced Sunday during the intermission of Sengoku 12 at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.

Hirota, who refused to tap to a hammerlock during his Sengoku champion vs. DREAM champion match on New Year's Eve, stated that he hopes to return in September.

Also taking the platform to speak during intermission was featherweight champion Masanori Kanehara, who said he will put his belt on the line at the next Sengoku event on June 20 and challenged Featherweight GP semifinalist Marlon Sandro.

Sandro, who knocked out his opponent in nine seconds at the event, later accepted the challenge.

In the main event of Sengoku 12, Jorge Santiago retained his middleweight belt against Mamed Khalidov.