Marlon Sandro and Leonardo Santos aiming for March 7th return to SRC

Featherweight King of Pancrase, Marlon Sandro (15-1) aims to return to Sengoku for his first fight of 2010 on March 7.

Tatame.com reports that Sandro, who was forced to withdraw from his Dynamite!! 2009 bout against Hideo Tokoro due to injuries, has been training hard at Nova União in preparation for his return to the ring. His appearance on March 7th remains tentative, as SRC has yet to name his opponent.

"I would fight for the title, but Kanehara got hurt. They’re still looking for an opponent to face me", Sandro said.

Sandro had a breakthrough year in 2009 with his successful run in the Sengoku featherweight grand prix. He dispatched Matt Jaggers and Nick Denis before losing a controversial split decision against the upset artist, Michihiro Omigawa, in the semi-final round of the tournament. He then rebounded with a first-round TKO victory over Yuji Hoshino at Sengoku 11.

Another Nova União fighter who is rumored for return to Sengoku at the same event is Leonardo Santos (6-3).

Santos, a younger brother of WEC bantamweight, Wagnney Fabiano, last fought at Sengoku 8 and lost a split decision against the Sengoku top lightweight contender, Kazunori Yokota. He is a highly decorated Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner who is cited as one of the most dominant lightweight competitors in the sport's history.

Sengoku, now rechristened as Sengoku Raiden Championship, will hold its first fight card of 2010, SRC 12, at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on March 7th. The fight card will feature a middleweight title bout between Jorge Santiago and Mamed Kahlidov.