» Fighter: Satoru Kitaoka

The rise of Japanese lightweight Mizuto Hirota (10-3) left many breathless Sunday after he upset Sengoku lightweight champion Satoru Kitaoka (24-9-7) by TKO at 2:50 of round four at Ninth Battle in Tokyo.

Masanori Kanehara (5-2) stole the Featherweight Grand Prix Championship in a controversial final that featured Kanehara despite losing his semi-final fight by unanimous decision to Hatsu Hioki (16-3-2) versus Michihiro Omigawa (4-8) who was given a hometown free pass into the finals after majority draw on the cards versus Marlon Sandro (13-1) in the semi-finals.

Strikeforce middleweight champ “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (23-9-2) strangled judoka Kazuhiro Nakamura’s (13-10) hopes of challenging Sengoku middleweight champion Jorge Santiago (21-7) in a guillotine at 3:03 of round one, leaving Kaz’ out on the mat. Denied a title challenge himself by Sengoku after pleading guilty to interfering with the duties of a public official following a March traffic stop, Misaki said nothing after playing spoiler, refusing the microphone in the ring.

Read More About Akihiro Gono Leaves on Stretcher, Kazuo Misaki Just Leaves at Sengoku…

Sengoku lightweight champion Satoru Kitaoka (24-9-7) and challenger Mizuto Hirota (9-3) both made weight for their main event at Ninth Battle in Tokyo Sunday.

Kitaoka weighed 69.9 kg while Hirota tipped the scales at 70 kg.

The card also features the semi-finals and finals of Sengoku’s featherweight grand prix and all competing fighters also made weight.

Read More About Kitaoka, Hirota Make Weight For Sengoku Title Fight…

While it had been previously announced that Sengoku 7 would feature “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (28-4) versus the Lightweight Grand Prix winner, and “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (21-8-2) versus the Middleweight GP winner, World Victory Road made it official Friday.

Fighters.com’s second-ranked lightweight Gomi will face Satoru Kitaoka (21-9-7), and ninth-ranked middleweight Misaki will face Jorge Santiago (18-7).  The first-ever WVR titles in both weight classes will be on the line.

Heavyweight Hidehiko Yoshida (8-6-1) is also on the card.

Gomi will fight for the belt despite losing his last fight versus Red Devil Sports Club’s Sergey Golyaev (8-5) 1 November at Sengoku 6 via split decision.

Kitaoka won the lightweight tournament at the same event by submitting sixth-ranked Eiji Mitsuoka (13-5-2) with a first-round heel hook, then defeating Kazunori Yokota (7-1-2) via unanimous decision.

Misaki last fought in September at Strikeforce versus “Diesel” Joe Riggs (28-10).  Riggs was felled via TKO in round two.

Santiago submitted Siyar Bahadurzada (9-3-1) via first-round heel hook and TKO’d  Kazuhiro Nakamura (12-8) in round three to win the middleweight tournament at Sengoku 6.

Yoshida submitted “Mo” Maurice Smith (13-13) by neck crank at Sengoku 3 in June.

Despite suffering an upset loss at Sengoku 6 last weekend, Fighters.com’s second-ranked lightweight “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (27-5) will still face Lightweight GP winner Satoru Kitaoka (21-9-7) 4 January at Sengoku 7 in Saitama.

Gomi wrote in his blog Sunday that he was caught off-guard and lost due to carelessness but learned a lot from the bout.  Having suffered no injury he will prepare to fight for the belt in January.

Gomi lost to Russian fighter Sergey Golyaev (9-5) via split decision.

Kitaoka submitted sixth-ranked Eiji Mitsuoka (12-6-2) with a first-round heel hook, and earned the unanimous decision victory over Kazunori Yokota (6-2-2) to win the lightweight tournament.

Fighters.com’s sixth-ranked lightweight Eiji Mitsuoka (12-5-2) skyrocketed into the top ten last August, largely on the pale, rippling back of “Hellboy” Joachim Hansen’s (18-7) upset of former Lightweight Champion, now ninth-ranked “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (15-3) in the finals of DREAM’s Lightweight Grand Prix in Osaka 21 July.

Mitsuoka had ground out a majority decision over Hansen in Shooto last November; and, Hansen ascended up the ranks towing Mitusoka with him.

Now, Mitsuoka is a favorite to take Sengoku’s Lightweight Grand Prix after tapping SpiritMC Champion ”Crazy Lee” Kwang Hee Lee (2-1) in Tokyo 18 May and submission wiz Rodrigo Damm (5-1) in the tournament’s first round in Saitama, north of Tokyo, 24 August.

Fighters.com spoke with Mitsuoka and asked him about his victory over Hansen and 2007 loss to eighth-ranked Kotetsu Boku (12-5-1), who Hansen beat in a UD in the opening round of DREAM’s GP in Saitama 14 March.

The focused Japanese fighter out of Wajyutsu Keisyukai RJW told Fighters.com that Hansens GP championship and victory over Boku didn’t interest him and demanded, “Please, look forward.”

Read More About With Sengoku GP Win, Mitsuoka Expects Fight Versus Gomi, Marriage…

World Victory Road has officially added their Middleweight Grand Prix to Sengoku 6, taking place 1 November in Saitama, Japan.

The winner of the tournament will face Fighters.com’s ninth-ranked middleweight “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (20-8-2) for the first-ever middleweight belt 4 January in Saitama at Sengoku 7.

Kazuhiro Nakamura (12-8) will face Yuki Sasaki (22-14-1), and Jorge Santiago (18-7) will face “Afghan Killa” Siyar Bahadurzada (14-3-1).

The event already features a lightweight tournament to determine an opponent for Fighters.com’s second-ranked lightweight “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (29-3) at Sengoku 7 for the title.

The bouts remaining in the lightweight tournament are Satoru Kitaoka (21-8-9) versus sixth-ranked Eiji Mitsuoka (14-5-2), and Kazunori Yokota (7-1-3) versus Mizuto Hirota (10-2).

WVR also announced that Fighters.com’s Fighter of the Month “King Mo” Muhammed Lawal (1-0) will fight, although an opponent has not yet been determined.

“GameBred” Jorge Masvidal (14-3) versus Seung Hwan Bang (5-2) is also official.

Joe Doerksen (40-12) revealed through MySpace Tuesday that he has agreed to fight Izuru Takeuchi (25-9-6).

Read More About Sengoku 6 to Include MW Grand Prix; Lawal, Masvidal, and Doerkson Also on Card…

Fighters.com’s Sixth-ranked lightweight Eiji Mitsuoka (13-5-2) popped Rodrigo Damm (8-2) with an overhand right in the first round Sunday night in Saitama, north of Tokyo, then slid a rear naked choke around the BJJ player’s throat for the tap at 3:13 of the round.

Mitsuoka advanced to the second round of the Sengoku lightweight tournament, the winner of which will fight second-ranked “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (29-3).

Gomi headlined Sengoku’s fourth battle with a narrow decision over DEEP Lightweight Champion Seung Hwan Bang (5-2).

It was Bang who provided the bang in his stand-up exchanges with the notorious big-puncher Gomi.

But, Gomi edged Bang with stinging leg kicks and championship conditioning for the decision.

Read More About Mitsuoka Plugs Damm, Gomi, Trigg Win Decisions…

Sunday in Tokyo at Sengoku II, Fighters.com’s third-ranked heavyweight “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (22-5) ground out a unanimous decision over “Snowman” Jeff Monson (24-8) in a match battled mostly on the mat.

Heavyweight “Monster” Kevin Randleman (17-12) also pulled out a UD over Pancrase star Ryo Kawamura (8-3-2).  The decision was considered controversial.

Monson and Randleman are scheduled to fight on a 24 June card in Charlotte.

Highly-touted Roger Gracie (2-0) remained undefeated after tapping MMA vet Yuki Kondo (48-22-6) in a rear naked choke at 2:40 of round one.

“Kiss” Yoshihiro Nakao (7-1) called out “Ironhead” Kazuyuki Fujita (15-6) after knocking out Kiwi “Big” Jim York (9-2) 46-seconds into round two.

American Top Team welterweight Jorge Santiago (17-7) fought off near-submissions before finding his own submission of Grabaka’s Yuki Sasaki (21-14-1) in a third-round armbar at 2:10.

Lighweight Eiji Mitsuoka (13-5-2) took only 4:15 to sink a rear naked choke submission in on “Crazy” Kwang Hee Lee (5-1).

Xtreme Couture welterweight “Quicksand” Mike Pyle (16-5-1) locked in a triangle choke to tap “Handler” Dan Hornbuckle (15-2) at 4:52 of round one.

Welterweight Pancrase vet Satoru Kitaoka (20-8-9) submitted Aussie Ian James Schaffa (7-5-1) in a guillotine choke in just 50 seconds to begin the night.

World Victory Road has added a middleweight match-up to their 18 May Sengoku event at Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo.

Grabaka veteran Yuki Sasaki (21-13-1) will face American Top Team’s Jorge Santiago (16-7).

Sasaki, who’s made the international rounds from Shooto through Pancrase, DEEP, and even a unanimous decision loss to “The Boogeyman” Dean Lister (10-5) in the UFC, comes off a first round armbar submission of debuting South Korean Bo Guk So (0-1) in DEEP last July.

Santiago, who also had an unsuccessful stint in the UFC, last TKO’d Trevor Prangley (17-5) at Strikeforce last November.

After Adrenaline MMA announced “The Snowman” Jeff Monson (24-7) would headline its 14 June card in Chicago, the heavyweight has been removed from the 18 May Sengoku appearance list.

The list now includes “The Monster” Kevin Randleman (16-12), Roger Gracie (1-0), “Big” Jim York (9-1), and “Kiss” Yoshihiro Nakao (6-1), who recently bailed on an announced DREAM match with “Cro Cop” Mirko Filipovic (23-6-2).

Previously announced fights include:

Eiji Mitsuoka (12-5-1) v “Crazy” Kwang Hee Lee (5-0)
Satoru Kitaoka (19-8-9) v Ian James Schaffa (7-4-1)

Interim welterweight King of Pancrase Katsuya Inoue successfully defended his title versus Satoru Kitaoka Wednesday at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.

The fight was scored 29-29 by all three judges; but, under the championship rule of “must decision”, the judges were instructed to choose a victor. Two chose Inoue and one chose Kitaoka, giving Inoue a split decision victory.

The meeting was the third between the two Japanese fighters. Inoue won a unanimous decision in 2004 and the two fought to a draw in 2006.

Inoue improves to 16-5-2, 10-2-1 in Pancrase. He holds a decision victory over Kyle Noke, who fights Scott Smith on ExliteXC’s February 16 card in Miami.

Kitaoka falls to 19-8-9, with victories over ProElite’s Paul Daley, WEC’s Carlos Condit, and UFC’s Kurt Pellegrino.

The first lightweight King of Pancrase was also decided on Pancrase’s first iteration of their 2008 “Shining” tour.

Japan’s Shoji knocked out Russia’s Artur Oumakhanov with a high kick 21 seconds into the second round.

Shoji improves to 6-2, five wins by knockout, and picks up some brass. Oumakhanov falls to 7-2, 2-1 in Pancrase.

Shining 1 is the first show since Pancrase adopted new weight classifications based on the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts.

On the undercard, Russian middleweight Alavutdin Gadzhiyev knocked out “The Pink Typhoon” Yuji Hisamatsu in 41 seconds to improve to 6-1, four wins by knockout, and 4-0 in Pancrase.

In 155-pound matchups, Shinsuke Shoji versus Yuichi Ikari and Wataru Takahashi versus Daisuke Hanazawa both ended as draws.

Japanese welterweight Sotaro Yamada caught countrymen Kiichi “Strasser” Kunimoto in a rear naked choke at 1:42 of the first round to improve to 5-3, all in Pancrase.

Undefeated bantamweight phenom Seiya Kawahara debuted in Pancrase by knocking out veteran Pancrase punching bag Yuki Yamasawa in 28 seconds with a high kick, improving to 4-0.

Pancrase’s second “Shooting” event occurs in March. No location or fight card has been announced.