Winning a tournament still counts for something these days.
Travis Wiuff (Pictures), who bested a field of eight heavyweights in one night at Yamma Pit Fighting 1 on April 11, has been tapped to face
Kazuyuki Fujita (Pictures) at World Victory Road's "Sengoku Battle III" on June 8. The seasoned Minnesota wrestler will square off with the popular Japanese heavyweight at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
In April, Wiuff successfully navigated the Yamma Pit's raised perimeter and earned single-round unanimous decisions over
Marcelo Pereira and former UFC heavyweight champion
Ricco Rodriguez (Pictures). He then outscored
Chris Tuchscherer (Pictures) in the event's three-round finale, held at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, N.J.
Fujita, a former national Greco-Roman wrestling champion and New Japan pro wrestler, graced WVR's inaugural event on March 5, snagging a submission victory over
Peter Graham (Pictures) in 1:23. A veteran of K-1 and Pride, the granite-chinned Fujita is noted as the only man to wobble former Pride heavyweight champion
Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) - with a right hook at Pride 26 "Bad to the Bone" in June 2003.
"Fujita is a very strong, good wrestler," said Wiuff, a two-time All-American at Rochester Community and Technical College. "I've enjoyed watching him fight because he always seems to have exciting fights. I'm sure this fight will be the same."
"Sengoku Battle III" will be headlined by 1992 Olympic judo gold medalist
Hidehiko Yoshida (Pictures) against a yet-to-be-determined opponent. Former Pride lightweight champion
Takanori Gomi (Pictures) is also rumored to be participating.
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