World Victory Road Announces Debut Event

by Robert Sargent

Newly-formed Japanese-based mixed martial arts promotion World Victory Road Inc. announced its first event, "Sengoku" - translating to "Fight Master" - which will take place on March 5th, 2008 at the Yoyogi First National Gymnasium.

Among the participants at the inaugural event are judo legend Hidehiko Yoshida, Sanae Kikuta, Makoto Takimoto and Ryo Kawamura, all of whom attended the press conference.

All fights for the event will be announced at a later date.

Championship bouts will be contested throughout 2008, and weight classes were announced as follows:

Heavyweight (206 pounds and above)
Light Heavyweight (184-205 pounds)
Middleweight (168-183.9 pounds)
Welterweight (150-167.9 pounds)
Lightweight (133-149.9 pounds)
Featherweight (132 pounds and below)

This weight category setup differs from most other major MMA promotions, but WVR's CEO, Naoya Kinoshita, expressed a desire to see Japanese fighters flourish, and that would require ensuring that proper weight classes were established for each division. He also stated that WVR intends to add additional weight classes in the future.

Official rules were also outlined, and are essentially a combination of North America's "Unified Rules" and rules from HERO's and the former PRIDE promotion. As such, rounds will be five minutes in length, with regular fights being contested for three rounds and title bouts lasting five rounds. Knees to the head of a downed opponent will be allowed, as will stomps, but soccer kicks and elbows will not.

These rules were established after numerous consultations with fighters in Japan and Tomiaki Fukuda, the president of the new Japanese Mixed Martial Arts Federation. The five-minute round system, as opposed to the 10-minute first round that is currently prevalent in most Japanese MMA promotions, is designed to increase activity and prevent instances of fighters pacing themselves and putting on poor performances.

Five Sengoku events are scheduled for 2008, and the dates and venues will be announced at a later date.