· “Sengoku: Soul Of Fight” Preview

· Article author: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Posted on 12/29 at 05:43 PM

A healthy dose of mixed martial arts action is on tap for Japanese fans on the last two days of the year, beginning with an all-day combat sports festival from World Victory Road’s “Sengoku” series. “Soul of Fight” will take place December 30 from the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo, Japan.

A highly-anticipated featherweight battle between Sengoku Champion Marlon Sandro and Hatsu Hioki will headline the event, setting up a battle that was originally expected to take place in the Sengoku featherweight grand prix in 2009 before both fighters were upended in the semifinals.

Neither fighter has lost since the grand prix. Sandro has moved his remarkable record to 17-1 with three impressive knockouts in his last three fights after a controversial decision loss to Michihiro Omigawa, including a nine-second knockout over Tomonari Kanomata and a 38-second finish of Masanori Kanehara, which earned him the Sengoku title and a top-five ranking in the process.

Hioki—long considered a one of the top grapplers in Japan and a future champion—will look to fulfill the hype that has been thrust upon him in recent years. One of the favorites entering the Sengoku grand prix, but a split decision loss to eventual champion Masanori Kanehara in the semifinals forced him to start back from the bottom of the totem pole.

Another fighter looking to prove the hype will be Swiss product Yasubey Enomoto, who will take on UFC veteran Keita Nakamura in the finals of the Sengoku welterweight grand prix. Enomoto has become a breakout star in 2010 after losing to Tyler Stinson in 2009, finishing two of his three Sengoku victories en route to the matchup with Nakamura.

Nakamura has gone on a 4-1 run since being cut from the UFC in 2008, and the submission ace will look to avoid the well-rounded game of Enomoto to take the grand prix.

The semifinals of the Sengoku Asian bantamweight grand prix will also be contested, with Manabu Inou, Shunichi Shimizu, Taiyo Nakahara and Akitoshi Tamura looking to advance to the finals.

Other names built mainly in Japan will also be part of the card, including former middleweight title challenger Kazuo Misaki, who will square off with Mike Seal in the night’s co-main event.

American Dave “PeeWee” Herman will take on the infamous Yoshihiro “Kiss” Nakao in a heavyweight battle, while rising middleweight Mamed Khalidov will battle veteran Yuki Sasaki. Ryo Chonan will look to gain some stability with his second straight win, and late replacement opponent Taisuke Okuno appears ripe for the picking.

The Sengoku series will also feature women’s MMA for the first time in its history, with four exciting bouts on tap. Notable fighters Megumi Fujii, Roxanne Modafferi, and Rin Nakai will represent the women in separate bouts on the card.

A total of sixteen MMA bouts and nine kickboxing bouts are scheduled for the event, which will be shown on in the U.S. on HDNet in January.