Satoru Kitaoka (Pictures) made quick work of HIT Squad representative Clay French (Pictures) in their tournament bout, giving the Japanese fighter a 2-0 record in Sengoku after only 1:21 of fighting.

“God only knows,” Kitaoka replied with a smile when asked if his next fight will make it out of the first minute. “I don't usually plan on what time I'll win. I just plan on winning. If I win quick, I'm happy, but the winning is the important thing, not the time.”

He described the Achilles lock as one of his “favorites.”

“It's one of my two sure-kill techniques,” Kitaoka said. “Someone once asked me if it really works in a fight, and it actually does.”

It’s a tactic that has served Kitaoka and his training partners well in the past. Given the results garnered by Kitaoka himself, and most notably Masakazu Imanari (Pictures), foot locks have been a consistent tactic employed by the Nippon Top Team grapplers against non-Japanese opposition. However, Kitaoka’s next fight in the tourney will inevitably pit him against another Japanese fighter.

“For the past two or three years, I thought, 'Man, Japanese fighters are not winning,' thinking, 'This could be a great opportunity for me, eh?’” Kitaoka said. “After winning tonight, and all four finalists being Japanese, I think that kind of talk has been killed however. I am always beating foreign fighters. I think it's good for me now to fight Japanese fighters this time, to show my abilities to Japan.”

While the victory was impressive in its brevity, Kitaoka doesn’t appear to be dwelling on it.

“I think I was lucky that I could finish the fight without injuries,” said the Pancrase rep. “It’s just a first-round fight, though, so this victory is meaningless. I have to win the final fight in the tournament.”

Noticeable by his absence, Kazunori Yokota (Pictures) reportedly went to the hospital with an undisclosed injury just after defeating Bojan Kosednar (Pictures) by unanimous decision. In his in-ring comments after the fight, Yokota admitted to coming into the bout injured, though he did not reveal the extent or nature of his injury.

“The Yokota-Kosednar bout was the only fight in the lightweight grand prix that went to a decision,” said Kokuho. “I heard that before the fight that Mr. Yokota had been injured, however it was his obligation and responsibility to win the fight. So, I am happy that he was able to show us how strong he was mentally.”

‘Xande’ discusses MMA debut

A reigning absolute champion in both the jiu-jitsu world championships as well as Abu Dhabi submission wrestling, Alexandre “Xande” Ribeiro said he has been focusing on his MMA debut at the Sept. 28 Sengoku event but also acknowledged lingering ambitions in the jiu-jitsu and competitive grappling worlds.

“As you know, I just got my second absolute world title, and for sure I still want a third,” he said. “It's my goal to fight in the world championships and in Abu Dhabi, and I can still do so. Jiu-jitsu is my sport, and I'm still very active. After I achieve all that, I can focus on Sengoku and help grow this organization along with my career.”

Though Xande’s brother Saulo had met with limited success in MMA in the past, there appears to be no better time for a high-level jiu-jitsu player like Xande to step into MMA given the recent accomplishments of other high-profile jiu-jitsu fighters such as Demian Maia (Pictures), Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Roger Gracie (Pictures) and Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares.

“My brother has always mentored me and driven me in the right direction,” he said of brother Saul Ribeiro. “I think a lot of jiu-jitsu fighters just go to MMA ‘just because’ -- without any real reason for it. My reason is that I'm involved and I want to see where my jiu-jitsu is going and be able to represent my art in MMA. I don’t feel any pressure because I feel that right now is the right time and the right opportunity. I’m going to come here, make a statement and keep up this lineage. I wish to go undefeated.”

The task at hand for both Ribeiro’s camp and World Victory Road is finding a proper opponent for Xande.

“We have ideas of who we want to face Xande, but when we showed him our list of candidates, Xande said that he would like to face a younger, stronger fighter, so we are still discussing who it will be,” said Kokuho.

One possible opponent mentioned at the news conference was Roger Gracie, a fellow high-level jiu-jitsu player also under Sengoku contract and someone that Ribeiro has a history with in the competitive grappling world. Other names mentioned were Sengoku’s heavyweight star Hidehiko Yoshida (Pictures) and Josh Barnett (Pictures).

Despite prior statements that he intends to compete at middleweight, Ribeiro did not shy away from commenting on Barnett, who, as the self-proclaimed MMA representative of catch wrestling, has made some incendiary remarks toward Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

“Well, he who has a mouth can say whatever he wants to say. I think Mr. Barnett believes in whatever art he believes in. I believe in jiu-jitsu 100 percent. We'll see -- you never know what's in our futures,” calmly remarked Ribeiro. “He can say whatever he wants to say. I think he's a great fighter, but I think Roger can beat him and I can beat him. For sure, someone from jiu-jitsu will go after him and show him the true art.”