» Fighter: Evangelista Santos

United States Army sniper Timothy Kennedy (11-2) and middleweight Chute Boxe brawler “Cyborg” Evangelista Santos (16-13) will top a Strikeforce Challengers card in Tulsa 25 September.

“I think we’re both pretty explosive fighters and we both show up to fight. We both like to throw some big bombs so it’s a good matchup,” said Kennedy.

Kennedy has trained at The Pit with Fighters.com’s eighth-ranked light heavyweight “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-7) and added, “I’m working with the best boxing coaches and training with Mark DeLaGrotte, one of the best MMA striking coaches in the world, so I think that people are going to see a new Tim that they’ve never seen before.”

Read More About Sniper v Cyborg! It’s Not Sci Fi, It’s The Strikeforce Challengers Main Event Featuring Tim Kennedy and Evangelista Santos…

“Afghan Killa” Siyar Bahadurzada (14-3-1) spoke exclusively with Fighters.com after his controversial victory over “Cyborg” Evangelista Santos (16-12) by TKO due to injury in the first round of Sengoku’s Middleweight Grand Prix.

As a child, Bahadurzada immigrated to the Netherlands from war-torn Afghanistan, but became stuck there without a passport as his fight career took off.  In July 2007, he was finally allowed to travel to Japan to fight (and beat) Shiko Yamashita (10-4-3) for the Shooto title.

Fighters.com: Can you describe the difference between your feelings when you first arrived in Holland after leaving Afghanistan, then when you first arrived in Japan to fight after being stuck in Holland?  Holland must’ve been both a place of refuge from war-torn Afghanistan, but then like a cage keeping you from furthering your fight career?

Siyar Bahadurzada: When I first came to Holland I felt like I was given a second chance.  I just went for it and kept trying to make something out of my life.  I learned to speak Dutch in almost six months.  I was [studying] very hard and, besides, not to forget, I’m pretty gifted in learning languages. I can speak several languages very well.

But, when I went to Japan, I felt different.  Coming to Holland was different because I was saved from the war; but, when I came to Japan, I felt like, “Now it is my time to shine.  My 15 minutes of fame is on!”  I feel invincible when I’m in Japan.  Somehow, the environment in Japan drives me to my limits, motivates me to take one step more and go for my dreams!

Read More About Bahadurzada: “I will beat Misaki. He knows it!”…

MMA rookie “King Mo” Muhammed Lawal (1-0) upset “Diesel” Travis Wiuff (53-12) by first-round TKO at 2:11 Sunday night in Tokyo.

Lawal staggered Wiuff with a right Superman punch, then rushed in with a double-leg takedown at the ropes.  Lawal leapt on Wiuff and finished him off with ground’n’pound.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion “Xande” Alexandre Ribeiro (1-0) TKO’d Takashi Sugiura (1-3) in the last minute of his anticipated MMA debut.

Read More About Lawal Upsets Wiuff in MMA Debut, Ribeiro Also Victorious at Sengoku 5…

World Victory Road announced Friday a middleweight tournament for Sengoku 5 at the Yoyogi National First Gymnasium in Tokyo 28 September.

The first four competitors named for the tournament are Kazuhiro Nakamura (11-8), “Cyborg” Evangelista Santos (16-11), Jorge Santiago (17-7), and Siyar Bahadurzada (13-3-1).

Nakamura, a PRIDE veteran, fought most recently in the UFC.  He was 0-2 in the organization, falling to Fighters.com’s eighth-ranked light heavyweight “African Assassin” Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (5-2) with a leg injury in May.

Nakamura will make his debut as a middleweight at the upcoming event.

Santos, from the Chute Boxe, Academy, won his last fight by submitting Makoto Takimoto (4-4) with an Achilles lock at Sengoku 1 in March.

American Top Team member Santiago won his last five fights, most recently submitting Yuki Sasaki (21-14-1) via armbar at Sengoku 2 in May.

Shooto Light Heavyweight Champion Bahadurzada lost his Sengoku debut in March, tapping to Fighters.com’s eighth-ranked middleweight “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (20-8-2)’s guillotine.

Josh Barnett, judo champion?

“The Babyfaced Assassin” from Seattle tread the path of his catch wrestling forefather Ad Santel Wednesday by submitting Japanese Olympic gold medalist judoka Hidehiko Yoshida (7-6-1) by heel hook at 3:23 of round three at World Victory Road’s inaugural Sengoku fight card in Tokyo.

A century ago, Santel waged war with judoka and proclaimed himself the world judo champion after defeating fifth-degree black belt Tokugoro Ito.

“I revived this rivalry when I fought Kazuhiro Nakamura,” Barnett (21-5) told Sherdog.com. “And, so I’m keeping it going for this century now.”

The fight was the American’s first in MMA since losing a unanimous decision rematch with current interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1) on New Year’s Eve 2006.

His layoff had erased his name from most rankings which require activity in the previous 365-days; but, vanquishing the samurai establishes Barnett’s status as a top five heavyweight.

Also returning to active duty, former PRIDE Lightweight Champion “The Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (28-3) sliced open “Bang” Duane Ludwig (16-8) of Denver to earn a first round stoppage at 2:28.

Gomi had been out of commission  since tapping to Nick Diaz (15-7) in a gogoplata at PRIDE’s last American card in February 2007.  After Diaz tested positive for smoking a doob’, the outcome was deemed a No Contest by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

“Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (19-8-2) got back to winning Wednesday with a guillotine submission of middleweight Afghan Siyar Bahadurzada (13-2-1) at 2:02 of round two.

Thick-skulled Japanese wrestler Kazuyuki Fujita (15-6) posted a north-south choke tapout of MMA-debuting Aussie kickboxer Peter Graham (0-1).

“Cyborg” Evangelista Santos (16-11) won the second of his two-month trilogy by wrapping Japanese judoka Makoto Takimoto in a heel hook at 4:51 of round one.

Santos will fight Joey Villasenor on a San Jose Strikeforce card at the end of March.

Middleweight Pancrase vet Ryo Kawamura (8-2-2) of Japan won a unanimous decision over formerly undefeated Brazilian Antonio Braga Neto (5-1).

Bodog Fight welterweight king “The Goat” Nick Thompson (35-9-1) also won a unanimous decision over Gracie Barra “Pitbull” Fabricio Monteiro (16-7).

“Cyborg” Evangelista Santos (15-11) will replace “Diesel” Joe Riggs on Strikeforce’s 29 March card in San Jose.

Santos will fight Joey Villasenor (24-6).

Riggs was replaced due to a back injury requiring surgery he suffered at last month’s Strikeforce event in Tacoma.

Santos fights Makoto Takimoto (4-3) on World Victory Road’s debut event in Japan today.

He returns from a 1 February TKO loss to Gegard Mousasi at an HCF event in Calgary.

Villasenor comes off a split decision victory over Riki Fukuda (9-3) at a September 2007 EliteXC show.

Light Heavyweight Li’l Nog, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, scored a TKO over Canadian Todd Gouwenberg at 4:34 of the second session at the Hardcore Fighting Championships in Calgary, Canada Friday.

The dominant victory marks Nogueira’s first fight since being knocked senseless in 23-seconds by Sokoudjou at PRIDE 33 in February 2007.

Nogueira raises his record to 13-3, 2-2 in his last four, while over-matched challenger Gowenberg falls to 7-3 after a four-fight win streak.

On a fight card filled with familiar faces, Armenian Gegard Mousasi extends his winning streak to six with a controversial TKO of tough journeyman Evangelista Santos at 3:42 of the first.

Mousasi pinned the Brazilian’s arm from side control and pummeled, but “Cyborg” Santos seemed to be defending himself intelligently when the referee waved the affair closed.

Santos disputed the stoppage.

Mousasi improves to 19-2-1 while Santos falls to 15-11.

Former UFC middleweight challenger David Louiseau dropped the fourth fight of his last five in a split decision loss to fellow Canadian Jason Day.

Day adds a 15th win to a record including five losses, while “The Crow” Loiseau flutters to 15-8.

Fresh from fleeing his ProElite contract, Mike Pyle bounced back with a Kimura submission over Croatian Damir Mirenic at 1:24 of the second round.

Pyle posts his 15th “W” against five losses and a single draw, while Mirenic looses his second consecutive to fall to 8-4.

In an HCF lightweight title fight, American Thomas Schulte choked out Canadian Garett Davis in a rear naked after just 1:15.

Also on the card, welterweight Derrick Noble knocked out King of the Cage vet Brendan Seguin.

Undefeated middleweight Andrew Buckland made it five in a row with a Kimura submission of Dan Chambers.

Costa Rican lightweight Ariel Sexton submitted “The Cowboy” Myles Merola in a rear naked choke at 1:08 of round 2.

Heavyweight Miodrag Petkovic split the judges decision with formerly undefeated Tim Hague.

Middleweight Nabil Khatib bounced back from a loss to take a unanimous decision over win-less Lucas Rota.

And the night began with an armbar submission of lightweight Fabian Cortez by Costa Rican Juan Barrantes.