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 second-ranked lightweight “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (29-3) and ninth-ranked middleweight “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (21-8-2) will battle to hold the first-ever Sengoku titles in their respective weight classes 4 January in Saitama, Japan. World Victory Road made the official announcement after last weekend’s event. Gomi’s opponent will be determined 1 November when Satoru Kitaoka (21-8-9) and sixth-ranked Eiji Mitsuoka (14-5-2), and Kazunori Yokota (7-1-3) and Mizuto Hirota (10-2) face each other in the Lightweight Grand Prix in Saitama. Misaki’s opponent will be the winner of the Middleweight Grand Prix.  Four fighters remain in that tournament: “Afghan Killa” Siyar Bahadurzada (14-3-1), Jorge Santiago (18-7), Kazuhiro Nakamura (12-8), and Yuki Sasaki (22-14-1). WVR also announced that they would include Beijing Olympic medalists on the card, as well as fighters from Sengoku 5. Gomi most recently defeated Seung Hwan Bang (5-2) by unanimous decision in August. Misaki fought “Diesel” Joe Riggs (28-11) earlier in September, finishing him with a second-round TKO. ...

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. ...

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) ...