SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 15 -- Less than 24 hours remain before the first sanctioned single-night mixed martial arts tournament in California history is set to begin.
Participants in the four-man middleweight Strikeforce-promoted event -- Trevor Prangley (Pictures), Jorge Santiago (Pictures), Yuki Sasaki (Pictures) and Falaniko Vitale (Pictures) -- didn't learn until Thursday evening what their potential path to the tournament crown would look like.
Randomly selecting numbers, the fighters took turns placing their names in the tournament bracket. First was Sasaki, who drew American Top Team's Santiago. Prangley, fighting out of the area's top gym, American Kickboxing Academy, immediately learned he'd fight Hawaii's Vitale.
Though the field appeared set, California State Athletic Commission executive officer Armando Garcia said a pre-tournament MRI raised questions regarding the health of Sasaki, which could force the Japanese veteran off the card.
After ordering an MRA -- a test that uses a magnetic field and pulses of radio wave energy to provide pictures of blood vessels inside the body -- on the heels of the MRI, Sasaki's status is still unknown pending official word from the doctor who administered the exam.
Should Sasaki fall off the card, Jeremiah Metcalf (Pictures) was tabbed as the replacement, this despite Sean Salmon (Pictures) and Dennis Hallman (Pictures) being slated for the tournament's lone alternate bout. Metcalf, however, needs expired lab work completed in order for the CSAC to clear him, Garcia said, and with such short notice there is a high probability that he won't meet licensing requirements in time.
Sasaki's fate could be learned late tonight, though chances are the CSAC will make its final determination Friday morning.
According to Salmon's agent Ken Pavia, the middleweight from Ohio, who is signed to fight Jason Miller Dec. 15 on HDNet, agreed to step into the main draw if needed.
Tournament bouts, consisting of two five-minute rounds cleaved by a 75-second rest period, prohibit the use of elbows to the head of a downed fighter. Should judges at ringside fail to agree on a winner, the referee inside the cage will determine which middleweight advances.
Eight of Friday's 13 bouts at the HP Pavilion, including the tournament final, will be streamed live on the Internet via Yahoo! starting at 8 p.m. PT to anyone outside a 150-mile blackout radius.
Other notable matches on the bodogFIGHT-sponsored event include a clash for the vacant Strikeforce heavyweight championship between Paul Buentello (Pictures) and Alistair Overeem (Pictures), and the return of local star Cung Le (Pictures), who takes on "The Ultimate Fighter" participant Sam Morgan (Pictures) at a catch-weight of 182 pounds.
Weigh-in results:
Paul Buentello (Pictures) (250) vs. Alistair Overeem (Pictures) (224)
Yuki Sasaki (Pictures) (183.75) vs. Jorge Santiago (Pictures) (184)
Trevor Prangley (Pictures) (185) vs. Falaniko Vitale (Pictures) (185)
Dennis Hallman (Pictures) (183) vs. Sean Salmon (Pictures) (185)
Cung Le (Pictures) (181) vs. Sam Morgan (Pictures) (177.75)
Lemont Davis (171.75) vs. Brian Schwartz (167)
Anthony Ruiz (Pictures) (204) vs. Bobby Southworth (Pictures) (204)
Luke Stewart (Pictures) (171) vs. Bryson Kamaka (Pictures) (169)
Josh Neal (Pictures) (186) vs. Eric Lawson (184)
Pete Sabala (Pictures) (137) vs. Anthony Figueroa (Pictures) (132)
Alex Crispin (155.5) vs. Clint Coronel (Pictures) (154.75)
Chris Drumm (145.5) vs. Evan Esguerra (145)
