Sengoku Unveils Middleweight Tourney, 'Xande' to Sign with WVR
With their fourth Sengoku card and lightweight tournament opener
still over two weeks away, World Victory Road have announced a
middleweight tournament for their Sept. 28 card at the Yoyogi
National First Gymnasium in Tokyo.
Much in the same fashion as their lightweight tournament, which will kick off Aug. 24 at Saitama Super Arena, the 183-pound bracket will feature an eight-man field with the quarterfinals being contested on the Sept. 28 card. The semifinals and finals will be held on the same night in November on a yet-to-be-determined date.
WVR have announced the first four competitors in the bracket, which will include the participation of Brazilian brawler Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos, surging American Top Teamer Jorge Santiago (Pictures), Shooto world 183-pound champion Siyar Bahadurzada (Pictures), as well as Hidehiko Yoshida (Pictures) pupil Kazuhiro Nakamura (Pictures). Nakamura, who lost his last bout in the UFC Octagon to Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (Pictures) in May, will be making his long-awaited middleweight debut after a career spent largely as a portly light heavyweight.
WVR executive Takahiro Kuniyasu also stated that the winner of the forthcoming Aug. 24 bout between Frank Trigg (Pictures) and Makoto Takimoto (Pictures) would also likely enter the tournament bracket. Ultimately, WVR's hope is to match the tournament winner against Japanese standout Kazuo Misaki (Pictures) later this year to crown the promotion's first middleweight champion, much as the lightweight tournament victor is slated to face Takanori Gomi (Pictures) to crown Sengoku's inaugural lightweight king.
Though not yet quite official, WVR are expected to announce shortly the signing of grappling all-star Alexandre "Xande" Ribeiro to compete on the Sept. 28 card in Tokyo, a source close to the promotion has told Sherdog.com. Ribeiro, 27, is a four-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, and has twice won the BJJ world championships absolute divisions, defeating Roger Gracie (Pictures) in the absolute final in both 2006 and 2008. It has not been announced where Ribeiro will fall in the 185-205 pound weight spectrum.
WVR have also added a heavyweight bout between Kazuo Takahashi and Valentijn Overeem (Pictures) to their Aug. 24 line-up.
Much in the same fashion as their lightweight tournament, which will kick off Aug. 24 at Saitama Super Arena, the 183-pound bracket will feature an eight-man field with the quarterfinals being contested on the Sept. 28 card. The semifinals and finals will be held on the same night in November on a yet-to-be-determined date.
WVR have announced the first four competitors in the bracket, which will include the participation of Brazilian brawler Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos, surging American Top Teamer Jorge Santiago (Pictures), Shooto world 183-pound champion Siyar Bahadurzada (Pictures), as well as Hidehiko Yoshida (Pictures) pupil Kazuhiro Nakamura (Pictures). Nakamura, who lost his last bout in the UFC Octagon to Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (Pictures) in May, will be making his long-awaited middleweight debut after a career spent largely as a portly light heavyweight.
WVR executive Takahiro Kuniyasu also stated that the winner of the forthcoming Aug. 24 bout between Frank Trigg (Pictures) and Makoto Takimoto (Pictures) would also likely enter the tournament bracket. Ultimately, WVR's hope is to match the tournament winner against Japanese standout Kazuo Misaki (Pictures) later this year to crown the promotion's first middleweight champion, much as the lightweight tournament victor is slated to face Takanori Gomi (Pictures) to crown Sengoku's inaugural lightweight king.
Though not yet quite official, WVR are expected to announce shortly the signing of grappling all-star Alexandre "Xande" Ribeiro to compete on the Sept. 28 card in Tokyo, a source close to the promotion has told Sherdog.com. Ribeiro, 27, is a four-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, and has twice won the BJJ world championships absolute divisions, defeating Roger Gracie (Pictures) in the absolute final in both 2006 and 2008. It has not been announced where Ribeiro will fall in the 185-205 pound weight spectrum.
WVR have also added a heavyweight bout between Kazuo Takahashi and Valentijn Overeem (Pictures) to their Aug. 24 line-up.
