World Victory Road is set to present Sengoku ’Seventh Battle’ taking place in just a few hours from the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan.

For fans in the United States it will be aired live early Friday morning on HDNet at 3:00am ET. Should you miss it you’ll be able to catch replays at 10:00pm ET or Saturday afternoon March 21 at 4:00pm ET.

The event will kick off the promotion's first round of the 2009 Featherweight Grand Prix.

At a glance it looks like they’ve decided to go down a different route than rival DREAM. Instead of having a plateau of established fighters it appears they’ll give a chance to an abundance of fresh young faces ready to break out and make a name for themselves.

Hatsu Hioki is being touted as the tournament favorite and is likely the most recognizable fighter to fans in Japan, though he did earn his name through the small circuits such as Shooto. His last outing was a beatdown on promotion legend Rumina Sato.

I think it’s safe to say he’s outgrown their ranks and it will be interesting to see what he can do on a bigger stage.

Though he’s the favorite -- it won’t be a clear path en route to taking all the glory, there are certainly a few fighters in this tournament that can keep it competitive or even go on to upset him.

He’ll first do battle with undefeated American Top Team prospect Chris Manuel in their opening round bout.

Hideki Kadowaki and Nam Phan are also set to collide and both fighters are coming off losses. Phan was piped at the post by Billy Evangelista (9-0) in a close split decision last June at Strikeforce ‘Melendez vs. Thomson’.

Kadowaki on the other hand would end up losing a decision in his Shooto Lightweight (143lbs) title bout to Takeshi "Lion" Inoue (15-3) last November at Shooto ‘Tradition 4.'

These two will be given a chance to redeem themselves when they face off.

Fresh off his win at Affliction ‘Day of Reckoning’ this January over Bao Quach is L.C Davis. He will duke it out with Michihiro Omigawa.

Featherweight King of Pancrase Marlon Sandro has a chance to step out of the shadows and make an impact in his bout with King of the Cage veteran Matt Jaggers. Sandro will be looking to keep that perfect record intact and progress to the next stages of the Grand Prix in the process.

The inconsistent Kim Jong Man will be given an opening to prove any naysayer’s wrong when he butts heads with Masanori Kanehara.

We haven’t been able to see too much of Korean Jung Chan Sung seeing as he’s only had two professional mixed martial arts bouts. But if his last one was anything to go off then we could be in for a treat. He scored a stunning knockout on Fanjin Son a mere 17 seconds into round one in their bout back at DEEP ‘39 Impact’ last December.

It could be too early to judge him solely on that performance but I for one am certainly looking forward to see if he can do it again. He takes on the formidable Shintaro Ishiwatari.

British rising star Ronnie Mann will battle ZST fighter Tetsuya Yamada. Mann has been turning out some impressive performances back home and is now presented with the opportunity to get his skills recognized further by fans. He has also adopted the ring name "Ushiwaka" which should help endear him to the Japanese crowd.

And last but not least, rounding out the Grand Prix opening round will be two up-and-comers in Nick Denis and Seiya Kawahara -- which could promise a riveting stand up war. Expect fireworks in that one.

James Thompson makes his return to Japan after two years away from the country. Since then and most recently he’s had his fair share of notoriety and infamy by creating some controversy (perhaps not intentionally) in his last few fights.

There was of course the Kimbo Slice debacle and most recently the Strikebox mess which almost led to UFC 97 having to relocate.

Let’s hope Thompson leaves that tornado of destruction and disaster that seems to be following him as of late at home when he heads to the land of the rising sun.

Also on the card, wrestling phenom and breakout star Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal has been put to the task of facing current light heavyweight King of Pancrase Ryo Kawamura.

The Team Quest standout has been on a ferocious tear since debuting at Sengoku ‘Fifth Battle’ back in September, demolishing veteran of the sport Travis Wiuff (54-12) with relative ease.

In the span of just four months since his debut got underway, Mo has continued to dominate his opponents and boost his record to 3-0, entertaining fans along the way with his fighting style and colorful personality.

Lawal seems right at home in Japan with his theatrics and thankfully he can back them up when it comes fight time.

In his post-fight speech after his last win at Sengoku ‘Rebellion’ on January 4 (a TKO victory over Yukiya Naito), "King Mo" stated that he wants to fight on every single Sengoku card of 2009.

No arguments here.

Here is the official line-up for Sengoku ‘Seventh Battle’:

Featherweight Grand Prix Opening Round:

Hatsu Hioki (17-3-2) vs. Chris Manuel (6-0-2)
Nam Phan (14-5) vs. Hideki Kadowaki (13-8-2)
L.C. Davis (13-1) vs. Michihiro Omigawa (4-7-1)
Matt Jaggers (9-4) vs. Marlon Sandro (12-0)
Kim Jong Man (3-5-3) vs. Masanori Kanehara (11-5-5)
Jung Chan Sung (2-0) vs. Shintaro Ishiwatari (6-1-3)
Tetsuya Yamada (3-0) vs. Ronnie Mann (16-1-1)
Nick Denis (6-0) vs. Seiya Kawahara (6-1)

Non-Tournament bouts:

Muhammed Lawal (3-0) vs. Ryo Kawamura (9-3-2)
James Thompson (14-9) vs. Jim York (9-2)

Be sure to check back immediately following the live event for our complete recap.