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.

Former UFC welterweight Akihiro Gono (30-15-7) returned to Japan after a 1-2 stint in the big show, but his opponent “The Handler” Dan Hornbuckle (16-2) made it a bitter homecoming with a head kick that left Gono unconcious for several minutes. Gono was carried out of the ring by stretcher and suffered a concussion and neck injury.

Heavyweight Samboist Blagoi Ivanov (1-0) won his MMA debut over Kazuyuki Fujita (13-8), scoring a draw on the cards but taking the split decision victory in Sengoku’s must decision system.

Lightweight Eiji Mitsuoka (15-6-2) tapped Clay French (15-6) in a guillotine choke at 1:51 of round one.

“Kiss” Yoshihiro Nakao (9-2) won a unanimous decision over Korean heavyweight Mu Bae Choi (2-2).

In the Featherweight Grand Prix reserve bout, “Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung (2-0) tapped “Jagger Bomb” Matt Jaggers (12-6) in a triangle choke at 1:25 of round two.

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.

Michihiro Omigawa (3-7) weighed 64.9 kg and his undefeated opponent Marlon Sandro (13-0) weighed 64.7 kg. Hatsu Hioki (15-3-2) and his opponent Masanori Kanehara (4-1-) both weighed 65 kg. In the tournament’s reserve fight, “Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung (1-0) weighed 64.8 kg and his opponent “Jagger Bomb” Matt Jaggers (12-5) weighed 64.6 kg.

In a face-off of middleweight title contenders, “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (22-9-2) and Kazuhiro Nakamura (13-9) both weighed 83 kg.

In the anticipated MMA debut of Samboist Blagoi Ivanov (0-0) versus Kazuyuki Fujita (13-7), the rookie weighed 110 kg and the vet outdid him at 112.5 kg.

Welterweight Akihiro Gono (30-14-7) weighed 76 kg and his opponent “The Handler” Dan Hornbuckle (15-2) weighed 75.3 kg.

Lightweight Eiji Mitsuoka (14-6-2) weighed 70 kg while his opponent Clay French (15-5) weighed 69.9 kg.

“Kiss” Yoshihiro Nakao (8-2) weighed 103 kg and his fellow heavyweight opponent Mu Bae Choi (2-1) weighed 109.4 kg.

Fitch decided to sign a licensing contract for a UFC video game and will be back in the Octagon to face Akihiro Gono (30-13-7) at UFC 94 in Las Vegas 31 January.

Fitch was dropped from the UFC Wednesday for refusing to sign an agreement giving the promotion lifetime rights over his name and likeness for a planned video game.

Fitch has not spoken to UFC President Dana White and instead talked to co-owner of the organization Lorenzo Fertitta.

“Congrats,” Fitch’s teammate told him.  “You have your job back.”

“First experience in the UFC…,” Hardy chuckled after his victory.  “You know, it takes a little bit out of you.  It’s a different kind of relief to any other, you know?  Eighteen weeks of work.  A lot of hard work, a lot of training, you know, a lot of sacrificing, it’s paid off.  That’s the big thing.”

Hardy threw a left hook early and often, scraping Gono, but never planting it clean.  Gono made like a butterfly until he could close distance and clinch-up with Hardy, where Gono landed a right hand that wobbled Hardy’s head move like a slowly spinning top.

“I didn’t know what was going on,” Hardy said after the fight, but added,  “I can take a shot.  I don’t mind.”

In round two, Hardy got back at swatting at Gono’s head.  Gono landed a body kick and clinched, but ate a Hardy right hand at the bell.

“It took me a second to kind of settle in,” Hardy admitted.  “He’s such a tricky opponent!  It took me awhile to kind of settle in and start setting him up a bit.”

The fruits of Hardy’s labor were sprouting in bumps and gashes on Gono’s face at the beginning of round three; but, both fighters were worse for wear and got sloppy.  Gono took a Hardy kick to his groin; then, Hardy ate a knee to the head while his knees were on the mat.  Both fighters were given time to recover.

Hardy’s successful Octagon debut versus such a crafty veteran will propel him as quickly to big fights as ninth-ranked “Zenko” Yoshiyuki Yoshida (10-2) has been matched versus the top of the UFC division.

Gono has now split his two UFC fights.

“Count” Michael Bisping (16-1) 185 pounds v “Crippler” Chris Leben (18-4) 186 pounds

“I’m glad you guys let me into your country,” main event fighter Leben said at Thursday’s press conference.  “I was a little worried on the plane.”

Leben was originally scheduled to fight Bisping in London 7 June, but opted to put to rest legal issues in Oregon stemming from an earlier DUI arrest to ensure a legal UK visa.

But, the pressure is squarely on the shoulders of Brit Bisping, who told the press, “I am on a quest.  Losing this fight for me is not an option.”

Leben, wearing tight cornrows, chided his opponent, saying, “It seems to me that, when Michael Bisping fights, self-preservation is top on his list.”

A brawl would certainly benefit Leben.  Bisping’s stand-up style is a bit more circle-and-poke, while Leben is happy to plant and throw bombs.

“We’re going to be lettin’em fly!  We’re going to be having fun doin’ it,” Leben promised, which usually means they’ll knock their heads together shooting for takedowns at the opening bell.

But, let’s hope not.

Eighth-ranked “Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine (13-4-1) 205 pounds v “The Truth” Brandon Vera (9-2) 203 pounds

At the pre-fight press conference Thursday, a very serious Vera turned to Jardine and challenged, “We’re going to be together for 15 minutes in the Octagon and I hope, I hope we get to find out a lot about each other before one of us goes to sleep.”

Jardine agreed, and quipped, “He’s got a real pretty style; and, me, I got a real awkward, real mean style.  So, it’s kind of going to be kind of like a beauty and the beast type thing.”

Jardine is coming off a 36-second knockout loss to seventh-ranked “Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (32-81) in May; and, Vera made a disappointing debut at 205-pounds in a unanimous decision “W” over Reese Andy (7-2) in July.

Vera, a former heavyweight, summed up the meaning of the fight: “Me and Keith are both at a point in our career right now where we get either to take one huge step forward or end up taking two or three steps back.”

“Irish Hand Grenade” Marcus Davis (14-4) 169 pounds vs. “Tellys” Paul Kelly (7-0) 169 pounds

Davis will try to come back strong from a loss to “Quick” Mike Swick (12-2) in June versus Kelly, who Davis called “a brawler.”

Davis put down the weights for this fight in favor of getting back to his boxing background.

“I’m going to make-up for it in technique and speed.  Being able to fight off angles and stuff like that.  It might look like I’m right in front of him, but I’m actually not going to be right in front of him,” Davis said.

Kelly, of Wolfslair Academy, revealed, “You never know where it’s going to be.  It’s MMA.  You know?  I can’t guarantee I’m going to put Marcus on the mat.  We’ve worked on what we think he’s going to do.”

Ninth-ranked “African Assassin” Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (5-2) 205 pounds v “Banha” Luis Arthur Cane (8-1) 206 pounds

“Lights Out” Chris Lytle (25-16-5) 170 pounds v “Relentless” Paul Taylor (9-3-1) 170 pounds

Akihiro Gono (28-12-7) 171 pounds v “Outlaw” Dan Hardy (19-6) 169 pounds

Shane Carwin (9-0) 264 pounds v “Old Skool” Neil Wain (4-0) 254 pounds

David Bielkheden (12-6) 156 pounds v “Joker” Jess Liaudin (12-10) 155 pounds

Terry Etim (10-2) 155 pounds v “Hands of Stone” Sam Stout (13-4-1) 155 pounds
 
David Baron (16-2) 155 pounds v Jim Miller (11-1) 155 pounds

“Dog” Samy Schiavo (10-5) 156 pounds v Per Eklund (13-3-1) 156 pounds

Fighters.com’s seventh-ranked light heavyweight “African Assassin” Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (5-2) will shake his big right fist across the Octagon at “Banha” Luis Arthur Cane (8-1).

Welterweight “Outlaw” Dan Hardy (19-6) draws a tough Octagon premier in front of his countrymen versus Akihiro Gono (28-12-7).

Undefeated heavyweights Shane Carwin (9-0) and Neil Wain (4-0) will try to deal the other their first professional loss.

Sokoudjou scored his first “W” in the Octagon in Las Vegas 24 May, knocking Kazuhiro Nakamura (11-8) flat at the end of round one.

Cane’s only loss is a DQ for throwing knees to the head of a grounded “Sandman” James Irvin (14-4) in Las Vegas in December, but he comes off a two-minute TKO of “Punisher” Jason Lambert (23-8) in London 7 June.

“Outlaw” comes highly-regarded from the camp that produced fellow welter “Semtex” Paul Daley (18-6-2) and nearly won the Cage Force tournament that brought tenth-ranked “Zenko” Yoshiyuki Yoshida (10-2) to the Octagon, but for being DQ’d versus “Zenko” in the final.

He’ll face another Japanese star in Gono, who debuted in the Octagon with an armbar submission of “Barn Cat” Tamden McCrory (8-1) last November.

Gono earned a shot at top contender Jon Fitch (17-2) last February, but bailed on the gig with a hand injury and has been rehabbing since.

In his 24 May Octagon debut, touted Carwin dropped “Hungarian Nightmare” Christian Wellisch (8-4) in 44 seconds.

Englishman Wain hopes his first fight in the big show ends as gloriously.  He last TKO’d Victor Aniolek (1-3) in England in January.