Sengoku ‘Eleventh Battle’ Lineup Bolstered

World Victory Road on Friday announced the addition of two bouts to Sengoku “Eleventh Battle” on Nov. 7 at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. In a de facto lightweight title eliminator, Kazunori Yokota and Eiji Mitsuoka will face off, with a crack at champion Mizuto Hirota on New Year’s Eve likely at stake.

Mitsuoka and Yokota have each earned a pair of wins in the Sengoku ring since their respective losses to former promotional champion Satoru Kitaoka in last year’s lightweight grand prix. Mitsuoka took a first-round armbar win over one-time Takanori Gomi conqueror Sergey Golyaev in January, before guillotining Clay French in August. Following a May split decision win over jiu-jitsu ace Leonardo Santos, Yokota brutally starched former International Fight League champion Ryan Schultz on Sept. 23 at Sengoku “Tenth Battle.”

Though the bout has not been deemed an official title eliminator by Sengoku, the fight’s significance and scheduling mirrors the card’s featherweight match between Hatsu Hioki and Michihiro Omigawa. The winner will challenge newly minted Masanori Kanehara on Dec. 31.

Meanwhile, heavyweight prospect Dave Herman will take on Kiwi brawler Jim York at the Nov. 7 event.

Herman is coming off of first-round technical knockouts of Josh Barnes and veteran fan favorite Don Frye, but his January appearance in Sengoku resulted in disaster. The 25-year-old heavyweight hopeful was derailed in what was anticipated to be a showcase bout for him against South Korean Mu Bae Choi; it ended in a sloppy second-round stoppage defeat.

A New Zealand native, York suffered a submission loss to Antonio Silva on Sept. 23, when he was tapped with an arm-triangle choke in the first round.

While not formally announced as yet, several additional bouts are expected to be added to the “Eleventh Battle” slate soon. Free-swinging lightweight Jorge Masvidal has publicly stated he will face former Sengoku lightweight champion Satoru Kitaoka on the card, while MMAJunkie.com reported Wednesday that light heavyweights Kevin Randleman and Stanislav Nedkov have verbally agreed to a match against one another.

Finally, Sengoku middleweight champion Jorge Santiago and veteran Akihiro Gono are also confirmed for the Nov. 7 event against yet-to-be-named opponents.