World Victory Road is back with its fourth installment featuring a lightweight grand prix and the return of its prized acquisition Takanori Gomi. Sengoku 4 will take place on August 24 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
"The Fireball Kid" is looking for his second straight win under the upstart promotion after stopping Duane "Bang" Ludwig at Sengoku: First Battle back in March.
Opposing him will be current DEEP lightweight champion Sung Hwan Pang. The South Korean debuted in 2007 and is the winner of five straight.
Also headlining the card will be former UFC welterweight Frank Trigg. "Twinkle Toes" last competed at HDNet Fights: Reckless Abandon back in December when he submitted Edwin "Babyface" DeWees by kimura.
It will be interesting to see how fans receive the Sengoku lightweight grand prix considering how soon it's being held after the DREAM lightweight GP.
While I've yet to hear any fans complain about having too much MMA, there may be an unspoken expectation for the Sengoku participants to try and outshine their crosstown rivals.
Here's how the card is shaping up thus far:
Main Card:
Takanori Gomi (28-3) vs Sung Hwan Pang (5-1)
Makoto Takimoto (4-4) vs Frank Trigg (16-6)
Peter Graham (0-1) vs Moise Rimbon (12-7-3)
Takahashi Kazuo (0-1) vs Valentijn Overeem (25-22)
Lightweight GP:
Clay French (16-2) vs Satoru Kitaoka (20-8-9)
Rodrigo Damm (8-1) vs Eiji Mitsuoka (13-5-2)
Bojan Kosednar (6-1) vs Kazunori Yokota (6-1-3)
Mizuto Hirota (9-2) vs Ryan Schultz (20-9-1)
The GP may not have any household names, but I'll be keeping a close eye on Clay French, who has wins over some tough competitors like Jason Ireland and Mac Danzig. Also watch out for Brazilian black-belt Rodrigo Damm, winner of eight straight including his last match at Sengoku: Third Battle.
Stay tuned for updates as the Sengoku 4 card is finalized in the coming weeks.
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