By Crimson Mask

SENGOKU TENTH BATTLE, Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan 09/23/2009

Another 3 AM HDnet extravaganza. Tweedledum and Tweedledumber on the call so PbP via Mute Button. Not huge name recognition overall here but might still be good fights. Sengoku tends to put on good cards.

DARK MATCHES (untelevised):

Jae Hyun So (132.3) W UD 2 Ryosuke Komori (132.1)
Shigeki Osawa (143.1) W UD 2 Ki Hyun Kim (142.9)
Ikuo Usuda (153.9) TKO 1 4:59 Woo Hyun Baek (153.9)

Opening is not up to usual Japanese standards. Lighting is horrible. Like a high school cafeteria. Killing the pyro. Largely empty arena not helping.

Blanco vs. Yamada opens the show. Wow, this is the worst production I've ever seen on a major Japanese card. Looks like it's midday and the windows are open, it's killing everything. Sound is bad, too.

MAXIMO BLANCO (154.3) vs. TETSUYA YAMADA (154.1)

Yamada taller, Blanco solider. Blanco gets nuts sometimes. Yamada, lefty, flies. Blanco decks him. Yamada ends up on Blanco's back. Body triangle. Going for the choke but Blanco reverses into his guard. Arm bar. Short slam out of it. Blanco stands out. Yamada high kicks wild, slips, Blanco drops on him. Scramble. Yamada takes back standing but Blanco throws him off and disengages. Yamada advances and slips and Blanco on him again. FG. Tries to posture up. Another slam and a followup combo. Blanco 10-9.

Blanco opens lefty too now. TD to FG. Punches even when wrist contolled. Yamada arm bar, Blanco slams out, backs off, drops a kick, scramble, Yamada ends up on hands and knees half through the ropes with Blanco pounding on him and Yamada verbal taps. Fun scrap.

TAKENORI SATO (183) vs. JOE DOERKSEN (182.3)

Sato lefty. Both pawing jabs. Nice LK Joe. Trading kicks. Joe short right hook. Left hook KD. Pounding. Sato holding on in some desperation. Scramble. Joe on top. Sato reverses. Joe has triangle. Sato lifts him, carries him, sorta rests him on the ropes, finally dumps him. Joe ends up top in HG. Sato going for Kimura. Scramble. Joe gets back. Now standing. TD. Body triangle but Sato reverses into guard. Joe punches from bottom. Arm bar, nada, but escapes. Joe right lead. Sato hiptoss. Joe reverses. Gets back. Riding. Brock position. Pounds underneath with the free hand. Sato up, Joe TD, Sato tries for Guillotine. Joe 10-9. Very good round.

Joe body kick head kick right cross. Body kick KD. NS. Sato reverses to SM. Joe kicks him off and they're up. Right lead Joe. Sato shoots, stuffed, Joe NS, drives but Sato gets Guillotine. Joe rolls to top HG. Still Guillotined but it's not in and he pops free. Mount, back, Sato reverses into guard. Scramble. Sato tries arm bar, Joe on top in HG. This is very good. Ref standup. Joe eats a hard shot but lands a combo for a KD and pounds Sato out just before the end of the round. Very good fight.

NICK THOMPSON (167.3) vs. DAN HORNBUCKLE (165.1)

This looks good. Hornbuckle's the one who HKed Gono's head to Mars on the last card. Thompson began his press conference promo, 'Konichiwa, bitches.'

About 50 replays of the Gono KO. This is two big, tall over 6' welters. Dan in first sporting the Mohawk. Nick actually enters to 'Kung Fu Fighting'. That can't be good. Clean shaven on the face as well as the head for a change.

Dan lefty. Tries the HK right away. Catches a LK, shoots, Nick gets a side chancery, Dan takes back. Has an arm across the neck. Waistlift Suplex TD. Nick going for Kimura from bottom. Dan regains back. Body triangle. Nick reverses into guard. Dan kicks him off and reverses into HG. Dan postures up and gets a punch in and Nick kicks him off. Ref standup. Dan landing more. Nice jab. Nick gets a right in but eats a combo. Dan 2 hard lefts and body kick, right hook. Nick missing. Dan another straight left. Nick with a combo. Dan flying knee to the body. Knees from clinch. Dan 10-9. This is really good too so far.

Both missing early. Dan jab. Body kick. Nick cut. Doctor looking. Over the eye but maybe enough to the side. Fight continues. Dan sharpshooting. Rocks Nick with a 2-1-2. Follows up and drops him with a low kick, punch combo and a final knee to the head. It's over. Very impressive win.

RYO KAWAMURA (203.7) vs. FABIO SILVA (201.9)

King Mo's 3rd and 2nd victims meet. Silva (is he related to Wandy or not? Really trades off the resemblance.) won their first fight in '07. Stats and record almost identical. Ryo looks taller.

LK Silva. Combo. Seems faster. Ryo grabs waistlock. Ref break. Silva 2 rights and a knee. Ryo clinches again. Fabio hiptoss. Top in HG. Gets back. Ryo stands. Reverses into clinch. Fabio drops him with a flurry. Ryo doesn't know where he is. It's over. Very onesided. Guess Silva just has this guy's number. Kitaoka ITH wearing a surgical mask. Medical team still tending to Kawamura after Silva's promo.

KAZUNORI YOKOTA (153.9) vs. RYAN SCHULTZ (153.2)

Seems to have gotten dark enough in the house for the production stuff to work right. Seems to have filled up, too. Schultz has the Amish look going. Seems a bit bigger.

Yokota has that annoying Grabaka style. LKs, all short but keeping Ryan out of range. Ryan charges, nada. Lands a right lead. Shoots. Gets half TD but ref stops it---warns Yokota for grabbing the rope, no card. Yokota throws an overhand right from Planet Zorchtron and somehow it lands and knocks Schultz cold. Schultz still out after Yokota cuts his promo.

Great undercard.

INTERMISSION

Sengoku 11 may have King Mo vs. Randleman, which is supposedly a 'step up in competition' for Mo. Oh yeah? He fought better guys his first three fights including Kawamura and Fabio. And also Sengoku apparently will run counter against K-1 Dynamite NYE and feature Isshi's MMA debut vs. Yoshida. Isshi btw is training at ATT. Omigawa and MW champ Jorge Santiago make an appearance in the ring. Gono comes in. His mother dresses him funny. Don't even ask. Omigawa vs. Hioki at Sengoku 11. Omigawa is happy to fight Hioki. Jorge hopes he will have a good opponent for the card. Gono talking gibberish even in Japanese but will be on the card also. His brain may still be on Mars. Boy this is a long intermission. Here's Isshi, looking hard as a rock. And here's Yoshida, looking very... old. Here's a video. Ariaki Coliseum will be the NYE venue. Isshi says they're going to take NYE away from Inoki (???) and he's going to punch Yoshida on the chin. Yoshida, even sounding old, says not to take him lightly.

MAKOTO TAKIMOTO (166) vs. JAE SUN LEE (167.6)

Taki beat Lee's sensei in Judo at the 2000 Olympics. Taki has coolest music of the night. 5-5 but vs. top level comp. Lee 7-4.

Taki drops to welter for this fight. Lee more muscular.

Taki lefty. Lee tries a HK. Taki combo and clinch and legtrip TD. HG. Not much happening. Arm in Guillotine. Rolls. Lee escapes and reverses into HG. Passes to side. Mounts. Taki gives up back. Keeps rolling into guard and stands. They're up. Taki grabs Guillotine. Lee powers him down and escapes. Side mount. Full mount. Back. Reversal, Taki stands out of guard. Lee upkicks. Ref standup. Trade jabs. Clinch. Taki Cornish Hype Judo throw. Guillotine. Bell. Taki 10-9 just from the last sequence, was about even till then. Good round.

Boxing some. Lee slips and Taki on him. Lee up. Taki combo out of the clinch. Lee HK, clinch, Taki TD. Up. Taki Guillotine. Pulls guard. It's not in. HG. Lee out of the choke. Passes to side. Tries to mount, nope, drops some G&P. Guard. Stands out, drops in. HG. Stomp and passes to side. HG. Reset in center. Passes to side again. Grinds the forearm. Mount, back, escape. Taki combo, HK misses. Legtrip TD. HG. Reversal. HG. Reversal. Taki stands, drops to NS. Knees the head. Up. Jump knee to body. Clinch. Taki steals the round at the end again. Real good fight. Very active, excellent grappling.

Lee body kick sorta off the glove touch. Clinch. Taki flash TD. Another TD into guard. Lee sweeps, reverses. Taki sweeps, reverses. Great. HG. Trading little punches. Taki stands, goes for leglock but Lee counters with his own. Taki Indian Deathlock. Lee kicks out, They're up. Lee HK. Clinch. Ref break. Lee two right leads. Clinch. Taki Hype throw again. Side mount. Shoulder butts. Crucifix. Small punches. HG. Ref standup? Nope, bell. I have Taki 30-27. Scores... 30-30 advantage Taki. 30-28 Taki. 30-29 Taki. UD.

ANTONIO SILVA (267) vs. JIM YORK (253.1)

Should be a more or less squash for Magilla who is rumored to be heading back stateside, so much for his steroid suspension if so. Magilla taller 6'4"-6'1" and heavier 267-253 and 3 years younger. York 11-2, Silva 12-1 vs. much better comp. They look closer in size than the stats.

York LK. Silva LK. Both missing short with single shots. Silva shoots a double, gets it. York Guillotine but not in. Silva side mount. Silva postures up and knees the body. York through the ropes and reset standing. Silva HK short. Trade jabs. Silva 2 left hooks in exchanges, shoots to waistlock. TD. HG. Grinds the forearm. Hammerfists. Arm-in Arm Triangle. Slips to the side. It's over. Silva probably has the best BJJ of the giant heavyweights.

HIROSHI IZUMI (205) vs. ANTZ NANSEN (204.1)

Odd main event as both guys are having their first fight but Izumi is a national Judo hero and Antz Nansen (what a name), is a Muay Thai world champion. Maori looking dude from NZ, supposedly has had only had 3 weeks of ground training. Izumi claims he intends to trade with him. We assume he is lying. His entrance is a big production. Neither guy really cut but Izumi looks sorta... fat. Short and squat. Carrying a lot of extra weight. Gives up a few inches height.

Antz opens up right away but wild. Izumi lands a hard right counter. He wasn't lying, he's trying to trade. Pace slows. Antz LK, Izumi counter left, moves in and clinches. Nada. Backs off. Antz missing a lot. Izumi lands, Antz finally finds the range, Right hand KD. Izumi up, Antz knocks him back down. Up. Down. Up. Down. Antz levels him again. It's over.

Izumi seriously needs to drop at least one weight division, probably two. He's only 5'8" and could make 170 easily, possibly even 155. Also probably be a plan for him to use his Judo and not to box the boxers.

Antz calls out Isshi.

Star power or no, Sengoku has put together another high quality card. Plenty of action, plenty of technique.