Former Pride Fighting Championships titleholder
Takanori Gomi (Pictures) will lock horns with reigning Deep lightweight champion
Sung Hwan Pang (Pictures) in a featured bout at Sengoku IV on Aug. 24 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. World Victory Road announced the matchup, along with the pairings for its inaugural Sengoku lightweight grand prix, earlier this week.
Rumors had swirled around the possibility of Gomi (28-3) facing International Fight League standout
Chris Horodecki (Pictures). Instead, he will carry his four-fight winning streak into his bout with Pang. The 29-year-old Gomi has not competed since March when he stopped
Duane Ludwig (Pictures) on a first-round cut at Sengoku’s debut show. High-profile wins over former UFC champion
Jens Pulver (Pictures), Hayato “Mach” Sakurai,
Mitsuhiro Ishida (Pictures) and
Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures) buoy Gomi’s resume.
Pang (5-1), meanwhile, has pieced together a five-fight winning streak since he dropped his professional debut to
Seichi Ikemoto (Pictures) last year. The South Korean knocked out the previously unbeaten Kazunori Yokoto at Deep 35 Impact in May to capture the promotion’s lightweight crown.
In addition to the Gomi-Pang bout, World Victory Road announced the participants for its first Sengoku lightweight grand prix.
They include reigning International Fight League champion
Ryan Schultz (Pictures), who will collide with
Mizuto Hirota (Pictures) in the opening round of the tournament. Based out of the revered Team Quest camp, Schultz will enter the draw with six consecutive wins, a streak that includes his memorable TKO victory over then undefeated
Chris Horodecki (Pictures) in December. Hirota, a veteran of the Cage Force and Shooto promotions, has never been finished in 11 career bouts. He has knocked out his last three opponents.
Remaining grand prix matchups pit
Eiji Mitsuoka (Pictures) against
Rodrigo Damm (Pictures),
Satoru Kitaoka (Pictures) against
Clay French (Pictures) and
Kazunori Yokota (Pictures) against Bojan Kosedar.
The Sengoku IV lineup will also feature a middleweight showdown pairing former Icon Sport champion
Frank Trigg (Pictures) with
Makoto Takimoto (Pictures) and a heavyweight bout between decorated Australian kickboxer
Peter Graham (Pictures) and Europe Top Team’s Moise Rimbon.