While we hear reports of financial troubles over in DREAM, Sengoku is moving forward as Director Taro Mukai predicted "slow and steady."
Sengoku 14 will feature middleweight champion Jorge Santiago granting Kazuo Misaki a rematch in his second title defense, the welterweight and the Asian bantamweight tournaments, Hatsu Hioki returning to Sengoku after capturing Shooto gold and Akihiro Gono will debut at lightweight against a sumo's friend.
After the break, predictions so good, lets just call them pre-fight results.
What: Sengoku Raiden Championship 14
When: Aug. 22, 2010. Live on HDNet, 2AM ET
Where: Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan
Jorge Santiago (22 - 8 - 0) vs. Kazuo Misaki (22 - 10 - 2) (SRC Middleweight Title)
Champion Jorge Santiago will attempt to make his second title defense against Kazuo Misaki – the man that he beat to earn that belt back in January 2009. Obviously when predicting the rematch there is no better place to look than the first fight.
Almost every time Misaki was on on the mat with Santiago, he was in trouble. Santiago came close with armbars in the first and fourth rounds before eventually sinking in the fight-ending rear-naked choke in the last round and showed that he is equally dangerous in scrambles, from guard and on top.
In the first match, Misaki had moderate success with his kicks but after 20 minutes of stand up he wasn't able to test Santiago's famously fragile jaw with his hands. In fact, Misaki himself suffered a flash knockdown in the second round but he covered to control the rest of the standup with flighty footwork around Santiago's heavier and more straight forward plodding.
Misaki simply won't be able to avoid the ground for five rounds to win a decision and so if he is to have a shot at taking the title he will need to knock Santiago out. To do that we will need to see a drastic improvement in his hands. On the other hand, Santiago's path to victory couldn't be clearer, and he has shown it is already achievable. He will take Misaki down and submit him an armbar in the third.
Pick: Santiago
Akihiro Gono (32 - 15 - 7) vs. Jadamba Narantungalag (2 - 2 - 0)
Akihiro Gono finally debuts as a lightweight and for the first time will not be representing Grabaka. Jadamba Narantungalag is a reasonably talented kickboxer and decent wrestler but the real reason he is being brought in is because he represents Team Asashoryu.
Retired sumo great and possible MMA convert Asashoryu will sit ringside and the camera will constantly cut to him during the fight as he showcases a wide range of very serious faces. Gono is far too experienced for Narantungalag and he should be able to armbar him very quickly. World Victory Road will be disappointed as they were hoping to give Asashoryu as much air time as possible.
Pick: Gono
Hatsu Hioki (21 - 4 - 2) vs. Jeff Lawson (14 - 3 - 0)
Recently crowned Shooto 143-pound world champion, Hatsu Hioki is one of the best featherweights not just in Japan, but in all of MMA. Hioki uses his height and reach effectively on the feet and has not really been outclassed in standup since his loss to Hiroyuki Takaya in 2003. Where Hioki really shines though is on the mat. Hioki has the ability to pass through a guard like a hot knife through butter and when in a dominant position he chains submissions and integrates strikes in a way that is rare in MMA.
The Ultimate Fighter 9 veteran Jeff Lawson will leap in with wild punches and knees but his real goal is to make it to the clinch where he can bring the fight to the mat with his judo. Thirteen of Lawson's wins have come by way of submission and the majority of those have been armbars.
Hioki's tendency to be sucked into stand-up exchanges and ignore his incredible ground game is the clear way to beat him but unfortunately for Jeff Lawson, his striking is of no real threat. Hioki is not going to get submitted, and whether it be on the feet or on the mat, he will pick apart Lawson to win via TKO in the last round.
Pick: Hioki
Leonardo Santos (7 - 3 - 0) vs. Sotaro Yamada (6 - 4 - 1)
Four-time BJJ world cup champion Leonardo Santos is one of those grapplers that can bring their ground game to the mixed martial arts game but until this point that big name win has evaded him. The Nova Uniao black belt was unlucky enough to be paired with Takanori Gomi and a prime Jean Silva early in his career but since then his only loss has come via a very close split decision to Kazunori Yokota.
Sotaro Yamada was selected as a "Sengoku training player" earlier this summer based on his grappling career, not his fairly unremarkable MMA career. Since 2008 he has been focusing on his grappling and he holds a notable submission victory over CBJJ Mundial Champion and ADCC veteran Ryan Hall. But back in the MMA world, Santos is a horrible matchup.
Yamada's hasn't shown the ability to bring his grappling into MMA as Santos has. It should be entertaining while it lasts but Santos will win via submission in the second round.
Pick: Santos
Taisuke Okuno (9 - 4 - 2) vs. Nick Thompson (38 - 12 - 1) (SRC Welterweight GP Series 2010 Block B)
While Taisuke Okuno has some decent domestic level wins on his record, and his aggressive striking game has kept him among the upper ranks of the second tier events, but he cannot match the resume of Nick Thompson. "The Goat" is on a two-fight losing streak, but Paul "Semtex" Daily and Eddie Alvarez both went down to Thompson and so shall Okuno, probably by decision.
Pick: Thompson
Kenta Takagi (6 - 2 - 0) vs. Yasubey Enomoto (4 - 1 - 0) (SRC Welterweight GP Series 2010 Block B)
Yasubey Enomoto completely dominated a legend of Japanese MMA, Sanae Kikuta in his promotional debut. Kikuta though now seems to be past it and the Grabaka boss cut an ungodly amount of weight to make his welterweight debut so we are still not entirely sure just how good Enomoto is. Kenta Takagi should be a good test of that.
With all of his wins coming by first-round KO, Takagi will offer a significant threat to Enomoto on the feet – something he didn't face with Kikuta.
Takagi can be pinned and held for a decision and while Enomoto reportedly has solid jiu-jitsu, his wrestling ability is unknown. It could go either way but Enomoto was very impressive in his Sengoku debut so I like him by KO in a quick and entertaining scrap.
Pick: Enomoto
Motoki Miyazawa (6 - 2 - 0) vs. Takuya Sato (5 - 3 - 2) (SRC Welterweight GP Series 2010 Reserve Fight)
2008 167-pound Shooto rookie champion Takuya Sato has a solid top control and ground and pound game, but he also has a lack of finishing ability. Also, every now and then he gets rear-naked choked very quickly and sometimes quite dramatically.
Motoki Miyazawa has faltered only against the much more experienced Eiji Ishikawa and UFC veteran Kuniyoshi Hironaka and he possesses a well rounded and aggressive game that will push Sato to his limits. Miyazawa by decision in a ground control battle.
Pick: Miyazawa
Shintaro Ishiwatari (8 - 3 - 3) vs. Kil Woo Lee (1 - 1 - 0) (SRC Bantamweight Asia Tournament 2010 2nd Round)
Gutsman Dojo's Shintaro Ishiwatari was impressive in his victory over Nobuhiro "Punch" Yamauchi, scoring a first round knockout via ground and pound to begin his run in the tournament. Ishiwatari was thought to have been a solid featherweight prospect before 2009 but the step up in competition did not agree with him and so he stepped down to bantamweight.
Kil Woo Lee came in on late notice to destroy Ayato Taneichi only 10 seconds into their bout in the opening round of the tournament. Unfortunately those 10 seconds though are really all that is known about Lee as Korean record keeping is often sketchy and Lee only has one other documented fight.
Ishiwatari is one of the favorites of this tournament but Lee only took 10 seconds to make his impression on the tournament. Still, we have to go with the known commodity - Ishiwatari via first round ground and pound.
Pick: Ishiwatari
Shoko Sato (8 - 3 - 0) vs. Takuya Eizumi (7 - 5 - 0) (SRC Bantamweight Asia Tournament 2010 2nd Round)
5-foot-2 Takuya Eizumi is one of the many fighters in this bantamweight tournament to possess noteworthy power, but unfortunately he also has paper-thin skin. The past few bouts have left Eizumi a bloody and bruised mess, regardless of the outcome.
Sakaguchi Dojo's Shoko Sato is another fighter to come in on late notice in the first round of the tournament and his decision victory over Hiryu Okamoto was crowd-pleasing but a rather technically devoid stand-up bout.
Eizumi should be able to get the better of the standup to take a close and entertaining decision if he isn't too badly cut before the final bell.
Pick: Eizumi
Wataru Takahashi (11 - 13 - 4) vs. Tatsuya So (6 - 4 - 1) (SRC Bantamweight Asia Tournament 2010 2nd Round)
Kazushi Sakuraba trained Wataru Takahashi started his career at welterweight and he picked up his first win as a bantamweight with an impressive submission over Shohei Kondo. By far the most experienced fighter in the tournament at this stage (four more "seeded" fighters will be joining the tournament in the next round), Takahashi is solid on the feet but is really at home on the mat where his guard passing and catch style submissions really shine.
Tatsuya So made it to the second round of the tournament but only barely. So was being dominated positionally by debutante Min Jung Song but a final round crucifix neck-crank won him the judges favor and the spot in the second round.
So is much better than his previous performance would indicate and he should offer a real challenge to Takahashi but the more experienced fighter should be able to edge out a close decision.
Pick: Takahashi
Jae Hyun So (5 - 8 - 0) vs. Hirokazu Nishimura (4 - 3 - 1) (SRC Bantamweight Asia Tournament 2010 2nd Round)
Hirokazu Nishimura's first -round bout with Wataru Inatsu was a fairly tame bout, both fighters giving far too much respect and Nishimura only earning the decision with a late takedown and stomp attempt in the final round.
Jae Hyun So on the other hand put on a dynamic grappling clinic, threatening with triangles and armlocks all through the bout until the final round. In the final minutes, So locked up his opponent, Ichiro Sugita in an awkward backward triangle where he broke Sugita's nose with hammer fist and although Sugita made it to the bell, So made it clear that at bantamweight he is a better fighter than his record suggest.
So's recent performances put him on a different level to Nishimura and he should be able to win an entertaining decision comfortably.
Pick: So
Sengoku 14 will feature middleweight champion Jorge Santiago granting Kazuo Misaki a rematch in his second title defense, the welterweight and the Asian bantamweight tournaments, Hatsu Hioki returning to Sengoku after capturing Shooto gold and Akihiro Gono will debut at lightweight against a sumo's friend.
After the break, predictions so good, lets just call them pre-fight results.
What: Sengoku Raiden Championship 14
When: Aug. 22, 2010. Live on HDNet, 2AM ET
Where: Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan
Jorge Santiago (22 - 8 - 0) vs. Kazuo Misaki (22 - 10 - 2) (SRC Middleweight Title)
Champion Jorge Santiago will attempt to make his second title defense against Kazuo Misaki – the man that he beat to earn that belt back in January 2009. Obviously when predicting the rematch there is no better place to look than the first fight.
Almost every time Misaki was on on the mat with Santiago, he was in trouble. Santiago came close with armbars in the first and fourth rounds before eventually sinking in the fight-ending rear-naked choke in the last round and showed that he is equally dangerous in scrambles, from guard and on top.
In the first match, Misaki had moderate success with his kicks but after 20 minutes of stand up he wasn't able to test Santiago's famously fragile jaw with his hands. In fact, Misaki himself suffered a flash knockdown in the second round but he covered to control the rest of the standup with flighty footwork around Santiago's heavier and more straight forward plodding.
Misaki simply won't be able to avoid the ground for five rounds to win a decision and so if he is to have a shot at taking the title he will need to knock Santiago out. To do that we will need to see a drastic improvement in his hands. On the other hand, Santiago's path to victory couldn't be clearer, and he has shown it is already achievable. He will take Misaki down and submit him an armbar in the third.
Pick: Santiago
Akihiro Gono (32 - 15 - 7) vs. Jadamba Narantungalag (2 - 2 - 0)
Akihiro Gono finally debuts as a lightweight and for the first time will not be representing Grabaka. Jadamba Narantungalag is a reasonably talented kickboxer and decent wrestler but the real reason he is being brought in is because he represents Team Asashoryu.
Retired sumo great and possible MMA convert Asashoryu will sit ringside and the camera will constantly cut to him during the fight as he showcases a wide range of very serious faces. Gono is far too experienced for Narantungalag and he should be able to armbar him very quickly. World Victory Road will be disappointed as they were hoping to give Asashoryu as much air time as possible.
Pick: Gono
Hatsu Hioki (21 - 4 - 2) vs. Jeff Lawson (14 - 3 - 0)
Recently crowned Shooto 143-pound world champion, Hatsu Hioki is one of the best featherweights not just in Japan, but in all of MMA. Hioki uses his height and reach effectively on the feet and has not really been outclassed in standup since his loss to Hiroyuki Takaya in 2003. Where Hioki really shines though is on the mat. Hioki has the ability to pass through a guard like a hot knife through butter and when in a dominant position he chains submissions and integrates strikes in a way that is rare in MMA.
The Ultimate Fighter 9 veteran Jeff Lawson will leap in with wild punches and knees but his real goal is to make it to the clinch where he can bring the fight to the mat with his judo. Thirteen of Lawson's wins have come by way of submission and the majority of those have been armbars.
Hioki's tendency to be sucked into stand-up exchanges and ignore his incredible ground game is the clear way to beat him but unfortunately for Jeff Lawson, his striking is of no real threat. Hioki is not going to get submitted, and whether it be on the feet or on the mat, he will pick apart Lawson to win via TKO in the last round.
Pick: Hioki
Leonardo Santos (7 - 3 - 0) vs. Sotaro Yamada (6 - 4 - 1)
Four-time BJJ world cup champion Leonardo Santos is one of those grapplers that can bring their ground game to the mixed martial arts game but until this point that big name win has evaded him. The Nova Uniao black belt was unlucky enough to be paired with Takanori Gomi and a prime Jean Silva early in his career but since then his only loss has come via a very close split decision to Kazunori Yokota.
Sotaro Yamada was selected as a "Sengoku training player" earlier this summer based on his grappling career, not his fairly unremarkable MMA career. Since 2008 he has been focusing on his grappling and he holds a notable submission victory over CBJJ Mundial Champion and ADCC veteran Ryan Hall. But back in the MMA world, Santos is a horrible matchup.
Yamada's hasn't shown the ability to bring his grappling into MMA as Santos has. It should be entertaining while it lasts but Santos will win via submission in the second round.
Pick: Santos
Taisuke Okuno (9 - 4 - 2) vs. Nick Thompson (38 - 12 - 1) (SRC Welterweight GP Series 2010 Block B)
While Taisuke Okuno has some decent domestic level wins on his record, and his aggressive striking game has kept him among the upper ranks of the second tier events, but he cannot match the resume of Nick Thompson. "The Goat" is on a two-fight losing streak, but Paul "Semtex" Daily and Eddie Alvarez both went down to Thompson and so shall Okuno, probably by decision.
Pick: Thompson
Kenta Takagi (6 - 2 - 0) vs. Yasubey Enomoto (4 - 1 - 0) (SRC Welterweight GP Series 2010 Block B)
Yasubey Enomoto completely dominated a legend of Japanese MMA, Sanae Kikuta in his promotional debut. Kikuta though now seems to be past it and the Grabaka boss cut an ungodly amount of weight to make his welterweight debut so we are still not entirely sure just how good Enomoto is. Kenta Takagi should be a good test of that.
With all of his wins coming by first-round KO, Takagi will offer a significant threat to Enomoto on the feet – something he didn't face with Kikuta.
Takagi can be pinned and held for a decision and while Enomoto reportedly has solid jiu-jitsu, his wrestling ability is unknown. It could go either way but Enomoto was very impressive in his Sengoku debut so I like him by KO in a quick and entertaining scrap.
Pick: Enomoto
Motoki Miyazawa (6 - 2 - 0) vs. Takuya Sato (5 - 3 - 2) (SRC Welterweight GP Series 2010 Reserve Fight)
2008 167-pound Shooto rookie champion Takuya Sato has a solid top control and ground and pound game, but he also has a lack of finishing ability. Also, every now and then he gets rear-naked choked very quickly and sometimes quite dramatically.
Motoki Miyazawa has faltered only against the much more experienced Eiji Ishikawa and UFC veteran Kuniyoshi Hironaka and he possesses a well rounded and aggressive game that will push Sato to his limits. Miyazawa by decision in a ground control battle.
Pick: Miyazawa
Shintaro Ishiwatari (8 - 3 - 3) vs. Kil Woo Lee (1 - 1 - 0) (SRC Bantamweight Asia Tournament 2010 2nd Round)
Gutsman Dojo's Shintaro Ishiwatari was impressive in his victory over Nobuhiro "Punch" Yamauchi, scoring a first round knockout via ground and pound to begin his run in the tournament. Ishiwatari was thought to have been a solid featherweight prospect before 2009 but the step up in competition did not agree with him and so he stepped down to bantamweight.
Kil Woo Lee came in on late notice to destroy Ayato Taneichi only 10 seconds into their bout in the opening round of the tournament. Unfortunately those 10 seconds though are really all that is known about Lee as Korean record keeping is often sketchy and Lee only has one other documented fight.
Ishiwatari is one of the favorites of this tournament but Lee only took 10 seconds to make his impression on the tournament. Still, we have to go with the known commodity - Ishiwatari via first round ground and pound.
Pick: Ishiwatari
Shoko Sato (8 - 3 - 0) vs. Takuya Eizumi (7 - 5 - 0) (SRC Bantamweight Asia Tournament 2010 2nd Round)
5-foot-2 Takuya Eizumi is one of the many fighters in this bantamweight tournament to possess noteworthy power, but unfortunately he also has paper-thin skin. The past few bouts have left Eizumi a bloody and bruised mess, regardless of the outcome.
Sakaguchi Dojo's Shoko Sato is another fighter to come in on late notice in the first round of the tournament and his decision victory over Hiryu Okamoto was crowd-pleasing but a rather technically devoid stand-up bout.
Eizumi should be able to get the better of the standup to take a close and entertaining decision if he isn't too badly cut before the final bell.
Pick: Eizumi
Wataru Takahashi (11 - 13 - 4) vs. Tatsuya So (6 - 4 - 1) (SRC Bantamweight Asia Tournament 2010 2nd Round)
Kazushi Sakuraba trained Wataru Takahashi started his career at welterweight and he picked up his first win as a bantamweight with an impressive submission over Shohei Kondo. By far the most experienced fighter in the tournament at this stage (four more "seeded" fighters will be joining the tournament in the next round), Takahashi is solid on the feet but is really at home on the mat where his guard passing and catch style submissions really shine.
Tatsuya So made it to the second round of the tournament but only barely. So was being dominated positionally by debutante Min Jung Song but a final round crucifix neck-crank won him the judges favor and the spot in the second round.
So is much better than his previous performance would indicate and he should offer a real challenge to Takahashi but the more experienced fighter should be able to edge out a close decision.
Pick: Takahashi
Jae Hyun So (5 - 8 - 0) vs. Hirokazu Nishimura (4 - 3 - 1) (SRC Bantamweight Asia Tournament 2010 2nd Round)
Hirokazu Nishimura's first -round bout with Wataru Inatsu was a fairly tame bout, both fighters giving far too much respect and Nishimura only earning the decision with a late takedown and stomp attempt in the final round.
Jae Hyun So on the other hand put on a dynamic grappling clinic, threatening with triangles and armlocks all through the bout until the final round. In the final minutes, So locked up his opponent, Ichiro Sugita in an awkward backward triangle where he broke Sugita's nose with hammer fist and although Sugita made it to the bell, So made it clear that at bantamweight he is a better fighter than his record suggest.
So's recent performances put him on a different level to Nishimura and he should be able to win an entertaining decision comfortably.
Pick: So