Sengoku IV Fighters Hit Mark at Weigh-In
Former Pride Fighting Championships lightweight titleholder Takanori Gomi (Pictures) checked in at 153.8 pounds for his main event bout with Seung Hwan Bang (154) at Sengoku IV on Sunday at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
The 16 other men scheduled to compete -- including the eight entered in the Sengoku Lightweight Grand Prix -- also made weight without incident at Saturday’s official weigh-in.
Gomi (28-3) has fought only once in the last 18 months, as he stopped Duane Ludwig (Pictures) on a first-round cut at the Sengoku premiere in March. The 29-year-old Japanese superstar has rattled off 15 wins in 16 fights since his submission loss to reigning UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn (Pictures) in Oct. 2003. Jens Pulver (Pictures), Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures), Hayato “Mach” Sakurai and Mitsuhiro Ishida (Pictures) were among those victimized by Gomi during his current tear.
Bang (5-1), the Deep lightweight titleholder, will enter the bout on a five-fight winning streak -- a run of success that culminated with his knockout win over the previously unbeaten Kazunori Yokota (Pictures) at Deep 35 in May.
The eight-man lightweight tournament will feature International Fight League champion Ryan Schultz (Pictures), former Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Rodrigo Damm (Pictures), Cage Force titleholder Mizuto Hirota (Pictures) and Matt Hughes (Pictures) protégé Clay French (Pictures), among others. The winner will get a crack at Gomi for the vacant Sengoku lightweight crown.
Sengoku IV
Sunday, Aug. 24
Saitama Super Arena
Saitama, Japan
Takanori Gomi (Pictures) (153.8) vs. Seung Hwan Bang (Pictures) (154)
Frank Trigg (Pictures) (182.4) vs. Makoto Takimoto (Pictures) (180.4)
Pawel Nastula (Pictures) (223.5) vs. Yang Dong Yi (220.2)
Moise Rimbon (211) vs. Peter Graham (Pictures) (244.4)
Valentijn Overeem (Pictures) (238) vs. Kazuo Takahashi (207.9)
Sengoku Lightweight Grand Prix
Clay French (Pictures) (153.8) vs. Satoru Kitaoka (Pictures) (154)
Eiji Mitsuoka (Pictures) (153.8) vs. Rodrigo Damm (Pictures) (153.8)
Kazunori Yokota (Pictures) (153.8) vs. Bojan Kosednar (153.3)
Ryan Schultz (Pictures) (153.6) vs. Mizuto Hirota (Pictures) (153.8)
