KO’s and Low Blows: MMACanada's Sengoku 4 recap

KO’s and Low Blows: Sengoku 4 recap
By Scott Davis

Despite being without a TV deal, having a less-than stellar attendance record for the event and little recognition stateside, World Victory Road’s Sengoku 4 still managed to live up to the much anticipated hype. The event produced everything from great submissions, to countless illegal blows, but more importantly, it proved that Japanese MMA is alive and well.

For fans of the pugilistic variety, the main bout between Takanori Gomi and Sung Hwan Pang delivered. The initial stanza began with a long feeling out process with Gomi being the more aggressive of the two. Eventually, the fight gained momentum and both fighters cautiously stood and traded with one another. A plethora of hard body shots and low kicks found their mark for Gomi, which seemed to deplete pretty much all of Pang’s energy. In the end, Gomi took a hard earned decision against Pang, who certainly proved his worth to many MMA fans out there.

In one of those “don’t blink or you will miss it” moments, the submission savy Satoru Kitaoka made quick work of his American counter-part Clay French in just half a minute. In what seemed to be a botched shot attempt turned into great opportunity for Kitaoka as he quickly secured an achilles lock, which French seemed to have no answer for. With the win, Kitaoka sent a clear message to the other tournament participants that when it comes to his grappling pedigree, he is the real deal.

In a fight that many anticipated would play out on the canvas, the match between Rodrigo Damm and Eiji Mitsuoka turned out to be a perfect display of counter striking. It appeared early on in the bout that Damm was the sharper of the two on his feet, but Mitsuoka proved that working with the likes of flyweight kingpin Yasuhiro Urushitani had paid off quite nicely. After being out-struck and backed up into the ropes, Mitsuoka landed a solid over-hand right that quickly dropped Damm. Ever the opportunist, Mitsuoka followed Damm to the ground, and quickly secured a fight ending read-naked choke.

For those wondering why the title of this article incorporated the term ‘low blow’ need to wonder no longer. Despite going into this bout with a preexisting injury, Kazuo Yokota outclassed Bojan Kosednar in every facet of the game. Though the momentum of the fight was halted several times due to inadvertent low blows, Yokota was able to use his strong Judo background to dominate his opponent on the ground and ultimately take a well earned unanimous decision.

One of the better fights of the night saw Mizuto Hirota square off against Ryan Schultz. In what was about as back and forth as a fight can get, it seemed that Schultz’s aggressiveness gave him the upper hand going into the second round. That, however, was all thrown out the window when Hirota landed a picturesque ‘Superman punch’ that sent Schultz to the canvas. Hirota landed three unanswered blows to finish his opponent off, and solidifying his spot in the final four of the tournament. It was not all doom and gloom for Schultz, however, as he has a tentative date with Jorge Masvidal at the next Sengoku event. The winner will likely earn a spot as an alternate in the tournament final.

The under card of the event was just as noteworthy and exciting as the other bouts. Valentijn Overeem started the night off well by delivering a beautiful flying knee to the chin of Kazuo Takahashi just under three minutes into the first round to secure a victory. Moise Rimbon demonstrated why it is imperative to be well-rounded in the fight game as he dispatched of the former K-1 kickboxer Peter Graham by rear-naked choke in the second round. In what turned out to be one of the more bizarre endings to a fight I have ever witnessed, Yang Dong Yi was awarded the TKO victory against Pawel Nastula. Despite taking several hard low blows early on in the fight, it seemed as though the damage caught up with Nastula as he was unable to continue to fight. Frank Trigg earned a very hard earned decision win against a very tough and game Takimoto in the co-main event of the evening.

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