What We Learned From Sengoku 7

Sengoku 7 - not quite Pride in its glory days, not quite an old Shooto event taking place in a gymnasium. Right on. So what did we learn?

• Dave Herman really needs to train for bouts longer than one round. Or at least run on a treadmill, ride a stationary bike or maybe swim to work or something. His cardio was suckeriffic.
• Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva prefers competing in Japan to being licensed to fight in the United States ever, ever again.
• Muhammed Lawal, a.k.a. "King Mo", gets more kingly and royal with each appearance. I predict his next ring entrance will entail him sitting upon a throne while two dozen tiny Japanese girls struggle to carry said throne from backstage to ringside.
• Jorge Santiago is one of the baddest middleweights around not good enough for the UFC.
• Takanori Gomi - phooey!

Bigfoot Flees US to Go Where Monsters Are Appreciated

Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva, the only heavyweight champ EliteXC crowned and the recipient of a healthy suspension by the California State Athletic Commission for being a steroidal monster, has fled the United States to compete in Japan's January 4th Sengoku event. The American Top Team fighter's exodus is not unprecedented. Japan, with its accepting culture, has traditionally been home to many monsters, monsters such as Godzilla, the giant turtle Gamera and Bob Sapp. Bigfoot, well-known for his appetite for food and designer footware, will no doubt have more opportunities to compete and earn mone. The downside, however, is that, as he's ignoring his CSAC suspension and fighting overseas, he will have a rough time getting licensed again Stateside. Only time will tell if Bigfoot's decision to flee is the right one.

Japanese MMA Scene Still Very Relevant

Tomorrow night, at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan, Sengoku will trudge forward with its sixth event - an event that brings us the final two rounds of its lightweight and middleweight grand prix tournaments, plus some moderately interesting bouts featuring Takanori Gomi, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (yes, the brother of that dude on TUF 8), Jorge Masvidal and Joe Doerksen. Like DREAM, Sengoku is struggling to fill the void Pride FC left behind, and like DREAM, there are some compelling match-ups on deck that could affect fighter rankings worldwide. And sadly, like DREAM, Sengoku will most likely garner the attention of only hardcore fans here in the States. In the past year, Sengoku and DREAM have given studs like Roger Gracie, Eddie Alvarez, Josh Barnett and a ton of others a platform to show the international audience that they're bad, bad men and worthy of respect. It's behooves any true MMA fan to visit sites like http://Sherdog.com and http://www.japan-mma.com/ and check these events out.

Thanks to the IFL, You Can Give a Crap About Sengoku 4

The IFL is dead and gone but its legacy lives on. Case in point: 155-pound champ Ryan Schultz, who will be taking part in the Sengoku 4 lightweight tournament in Japan tonight. "Senwhat" you say? Sengoku, one of the promotions that has arisen to fill the void Pride's demise left behind - and a promotion stocked with so many foreign fighters, the average US MMA fan would likely have no idea who to root for. Gosh, who's going to win in the bout between Kazunori Yokota and Bojan Kosednar? Who's going to come out on top in Eiji Mitsuoka vs. Rodrigo Damm? Who cares! It's all about Team Quest fighter Schultz, a recognizable name on the Sengoku roster thanks to the IFL.