With Primary Sponsor Officially Out, Sengoku Most Likely Finished

I’ll be honest with you fans and friends: I probably don’t pay as much attention to Japanese MMA as I should. I’ve held a passing fixation with DREAM, but other than that, not much has been able to hold my interest in The Land of the Rising Sun. It’s unfortunate, but what’s even more unfortunate is that so many people seem to be exactly like me: the state of MMA in Japan is quite dire, and that’s not a hyperbole. And things just got even worse: the primary sponsor of Japan’s Sengoku promotion has officially pulled its support, and it appears that one of the biggest MMA promotions in Japan is headed for bankruptcy. Here are all the details.

We head to MMA Weekly for a concise report. The report states that Sengoku Raiden Championship recently released a statement saying that their primary sponsor, Don Quijote, has pulled out of the promotion entirely. Don Quijote is a Japanese-based discount chain store that also has four stores in Hawaii. Apparently the chain store will continue to sponsor the Pancrase and Shooto organizations.

To put things into perspective: Sengoku and DREAM are pretty much the two biggest MMA promotions in Japan since the fall of the legendary PRIDE FC promotion. With this announcement, Sengoku is basically doomed unless they somehow find an eleventh-hour backer, which at this point doesn’t appear likely at all. And DREAM has been in the news for weeks dealing with a monetary scandal all its own, with multiple fighters coming out and accusing DREAM of not paying them.

Although I’ve barely followed Sengoku, that absolutely does not mean that I want to see this promotion fold. With all the gains the UFC has been making recently, coupled with the success of promotions like Strikeforce and Bellator, it’s easy to think that everyone is having an amazing 2011 and that the state of MMA is strong across the world.

Obviously that is just not true.

Even though it appears unlikely, I hope somebody, anybody, steps up to the plate and saves Sengoku. I don’t think Japanese MMA will become non-existent if Sengoku falls, I don’t even think it’ll happen if DREAM goes away, but it would certainly be two very big blows. I honestly think MMA in Japan is right on the precipice: it may never fully go away, but it’s in the process of vanishing from the mainstream.

And no matter what your promotional affiliations may be, it’ll be a sad day for all when Japanese MMA vanishes from Japanese popular culture. Japan was at one time the Mecca of MMA, some of the best fights of all time were waged in the famous PRIDE ring. To this day, PRIDE holds the record for the largest audience to ever attend an MMA event. Japan is, was, and always will be an integral part of the history of MMA. And I would hate to see that history be forgotten.

And what about you, fans and friends? Any thoughts on the situation?