Santiago-Misaki Rematch Headlines Sengoku 14

Jorge Santiago file photo: Sherdog.com

Sengoku middleweight champion Jorge Santiago will defend his crown in a rematch with Kazuo Misaki in the Sengoku Raiden Championships 14 headliner on Aug. 22 at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. Nine matches have been greenlit for the event, which will air live on HDNet.

Santiago has rattled off 10 wins in 11 fights. The 29-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt outpointed Mamed Khalidov en route to a five-round unanimous decision at SRC 12 in March, avenging his 2009 technical knockout loss to the EliteXC veteran. Anchored at American Top Team, he has delivered 20 of his 22 victories by knockout, TKO or submission and holds notable wins against UFC veterans Derrick Noble, Jeremy Horn and Trevor Prangley. Santiago choked Misaki unconscious to win the Sengoku middleweight title in January 2009.

Misaki has not competed since his TKO loss to Dutch knockout artist Melvin Manhoef on New Year’s Eve. The 34-year-old Japanese veteran won the 2006 Pride Fighting Championships welterweight grand prix and was once considered one of the world’s top 10 middleweights. Victories over former two-division Pride titleholder Dan Henderson, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 3 finalist Ed Herman and Santiago’s ATT stablemate, Denis Kang, buoy his resume.

Meanwhile, SRC 14 will also feature the lightweight debut of UFC and Pride veteran Akihiro Gono, as he toes the line against the little-known Jadamba Narantungalag.

Gono will carry a three-fight winning streak into the match. The flamboyant 35-year-old last competed in March, when he earned a unanimous nod against Diego Gonzalez at SRC 12. Gono counts victories over former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi, reigning Bellator Fighting Championships middleweight titleholder Hector Lombard and Hayato “Mach” Sakurai among his 32 career conquests. He was released by the UFC following his unanimous decision defeat to the world-ranked Jon Fitch in January 2009.

Narantungalag will enter his promotional debut on the strength of back-to-back wins, though he has not competed in more than a year. He last fought in July 2009, when he submitted Bernueng Sakhomsin with a first-round armbar under the Art of War banner in China.

Sengoku Middleweight Championship
Jorge Santiago vs. Kazuo Misaki

Akihiro Gono vs. Jadamba Narantungalag
Taisuke Okuno vs. Nick Thompson
Yasubey Enomoto vs. Kenta Takagi
Motoki Miyazawa vs. Takuya Sato
Shintaro Ishiwatari vs. Kil Woo Lee
Takuya Eizumi vs. Shoko Sato
Tatsuya So vs. Wataru Takahashi
Hirokazu Nishimura vs. Jae Hyun So