Sengoku 11 Preview

Along with two Strikeforce events this weekend, the Japanese organization World Victory Road will be putting on Sengoku 11 in Tokyo.

The event will feature a matchup that will look to begin correcting a bizarre featherweight tournament as Michihiro Omigawa (7-8-1 MMA) takes on the organization’s top ranked featherweight in Hatsu Hioki (20-3-2 MMA, #4 IWMMAR).

There will also be a notable fight between top ten middleweight and organizational champion Jorge Santiago (22-7 MMA, 1-2 UFC, #5 IWMMAR) and Mamed Khalidov (19-3-1 MMA).  Santiago will look to continue an impressive nine fight winning streak that has seen him stop all of his opponents either with strikes or a submission. Khalidov, a decided underdog, is on an impressive winning streak, too, though against admittedly less substantial competition. Since October of 2005, Khalidov has gone 16-0-1, with only one win coming by way of decision.

In an attempt to climb back onto the top ten, Satoru Kitaoka (25-9-9 MMA) will look to rebound from a tough TKO loss as he takes on Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal (18-4 MMA). Kitaoka has a devastating submission game, and should be able to put that into effect against Masvidal, but Masvidal is not a guy to take lightly (he holds wins over UFC veteran Joe Lauzon and former IFL champion Ryan Schultz).

Those three fights are really the three best bouts on the card, but there are a few on the under card that are worth keeping an eye on.

The heavyweight showdown between Dave “Pee Wee” Herman (15-1 MMA) and Jim York (11-3 MMA) will definitely be an exciting fight between guys that hit hard. While neither are particularly technical, it should be a fantastic brawl.

The card will also feature Kevin Randleman (17-13 MMA, 4-3 UFC) looking for another win to get him on track as he takes on Bulgarian wrestling powerhouse Stanislav Nedkov (7-0 MMA). While there’s no real question of who the superior wrestler is (Randleman was a two time NCAA champion at Ohio State), this fight is going to be more about youth and athleticism than wrestling. If Randleman can show some glimmer of the freakish athlete he was in his youth, he can beat Nedkov, but if he can’t, the Bulgarian is going to let loose and do some damage.

Kazunori Yokota (10-2-3 MMA) and Eiji Mitsuoka (16-6-2 MMA) will each be looking for a third straight W as they square off in what may be a dark horse for fight of the night. Both are tough guys with a good deal of experience and solid all-around skills, and there’s no clear favorite in the fight (though Mitsuoka has fought better competition, it’s not as though he’s beaten any of the top fighters he’s squared off with). It should be a fun fight.

MMAOpinion will have video of the event, as always, posted after the fights air on November 2nd. This is a big weekend for MMA, as it will also include the CBS televised Strikeforce event, and MMAOpinion will provide coverage of the Strikeforce ShoMMA challengers series here in Fresno. Keep checking in, as MMAOpinion will be updating regularly throughout the day.