World Victory Road "Sengoku II" Results
by Robert Sargent
In its second event, World Victory Road once again put on a quality show with many excellent fights, on a night that culminated with "The Babyface Assassin" Josh Barnett defeating Jeff "The Snowman" Monson in a hard-fought battle.
While not yet on the level of recent DREAM events, World Victory Road does appear to have a bright future in the sport, with many talented fighters and great fights.
"The Babyface Assassin" Josh Barnett vs Jeff "The Snowman" Monson
This battle between long-time friends became a battle of attrition, with Barnett eventually emerging as the winner after dominating much of the final round.The first round started off somewhat tentatively, with both fighters wary of the other's takedowns. Neither fighter was able to mount much in the way of effective offence, with Barnett having a slight edge. In round two, Monson managed to score a takedown and held Barnett down for quite some time. Monson moved to side-control, but Barnett escaped back to his feet in a highly impressive display. Barnett then took Monson down before the end of the round.
Round three saw Barnett score another takedown, but Monson defended and got back to his feet unscathed. After a series of knee strikes from Barnett, he scored another takedown and landed strikes from the top for most of the rest of the round. Just prior to the bell, Barnett tried unsuccessfully for a toe hold. When the scorecards were read, Barnett emerged with the victory.
Winner: Josh Barnett by Unanimous Decision after three rounds. He improves to 22-5-0.
Roger Gracie vs Yuki Kondo
The unfortunate downturn in the once-storied career of Kondo, a former PRIDE and Pancrase star with over 75 fights, continued in this battle, as he was unable to overcome a significant size and strength disadvantage and succumbed to a rear naked choke in round one.Gracie, a member of the new age of the famed Gracie family and arguably the greatest submission grappler on the planet, used his considerable strength advantage to manhandle the smaller Kondo, taking him to the ground early in the fight. Gracie moved to mount, forcing Kondo to scramble and give up his back. However, this proved costly, as Gracie quickly locked in a choke and forced a tapout just past the midway point of the first round. Gracie's career continues to rise while Kondo's has never been the same since his brutal 2004 KO loss to Wanderlei Silva in PRIDE.
Winner: Roger Gracie by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 2:50 of round one. He improves to 2-0-0.
Kevin "The Monster" Randleman vs Ryo Kawamura
In an incredibly questionable outcome, Randleman was awarded with a nonsensical decision victory in this fight - his comeback to competition after a lengthy absence due to injury and suspension - despite doing absolutely nothing after the first two minutes of round one.Randleman landed a solid punch early in the fight and scored a takedown, but was unable to do anything on the ground. Kawamura made his way back to his feet and Randleman tried for a German suplex, unsuccessfully. This process of unsuccessful suplex attempts from Randleman repeated itself for much of the remainder of the fight. Kawamura countered with a variety of tactics, including kneeling to escape and using Kimura and rolling kneebar attempts to evade.
Kawamura opened up with strikes in the second and third rounds, pushing the pace with effective punches and kicks, while Randleman was content to circle the ring and do very little in return. Amazingly, Kawamura was robbed of a victory by the judges, much to the dismay of the crowd and Kawamura himself. Randleman, seemingly aware that he had been given a gift, requested a rematch in the future.
Winner: Kevin Randleman by Unanimous Decision after three rounds. He improves to 17-12-0.
Jorge Santiago vs Yuki Sasaki
The clock was Santiago's best friend in this fight, as it saved him from potentially fight-ending armbars in both the first and second rounds, and he managed to secure an armbar of his own in round three for the victory.Sasaki held a decided advantage in the opening two rounds, using his prowess in submissions to nullify the powerful striker, Santiago. Sasaki locked in a rear naked choke at one point, but Santiago managed to escape and reverse position. The two armbar attempts late in rounds one and two were Sasaki's best chances at ending the fight, but the bell became his worst enemy.
In round three, Santiago countered a takedown from Sasaki by locking on a tight armbar in the middle of the round. Fortunately for him, there was no bell to end the round and save Sasaki, and Santiago scored the tapout victory.
Winner: Jorge Santiago by Submission (Armbar) at 2:10 of round three. He improves to 17-7-0.
Eiji Mitsuoka vs "Crazy" Kwang Hee Lee
Mitsuoka continued his string of impressive wins, handing Lee his first defeat in this fight, after Lee had begun his career with five straight knockout victories.Mitsuoka scored a takedown fairly early in round one, eventually passing Lee's guard. It was evident that Mitsuoka held a decided advantage on the ground against the knockout artist, Lee, and soon took Lee's back. After a moment, Mitsuoka managed to lock in a rear naked choke and Lee was forced to submit late in round one.
Winner: Eiji Mitsuoka by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:15 of round one. He improves to 13-5-2.
Satoru Kitaoka vs Ian James Schaffa
Pancrase veteran Kitaoka made short work of Schaffa, adding to his already impressive list of victories, with a guillotine choke early in the first round.Schaffa sprawled to defend an early takedown attempt from Kitaoka, but wound up trapped in the guillotine in the process. Unable to do anything to escape the technique, Schaffa was forced to submit, ending his night in disappointing fashion.
Winner: Satoru Kitaoka by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 0:50 of round one. He improves to 20-8-9.
Yoshihiro "Kiss" Nakao vs "Big" Jim York
Nakao, still most known for the now-infamous kiss incident prior to his fight with Heath Herring, scored his second straight win, knocking out one of Australia's top fighters, in York, early in round two.After engaging in striking exchanges for much of the first round, Nakao scored a takedown early in round two. York managed to get back to his feet, but was met with a vicious punch from Nakao that knocked York out and ended the fight.
Winner: Yoshihiro Nakao by KO (Punch) at 0:46 of round two. He improves to 7-1-0, 2 NC.
Mike "Quicksand" Pyle vs Dan "The Handler" Hornbuckle
Pyle made it two straight victories since his loss to Jake Shields in EliteXC, ending Hornbuckle's incredible 13-fight winning streak with a triangle choke just before the end of round one.Both fighters traded strikes for most of the opening round, with Pyle, a ground ace, holding his own very well against Hornbuckle. Neither held a decided advantage until Pyle dazed Hornbuckle with a punch in the late stages of the round, then trapped Hornbuckle in a triangle choke after the fight went to the ground. With mere seconds before the bell, Hornbuckle was forced to submit.
Winner: Mike Pyle by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 4:52 of round one. He improves to 16-5-1.
World Victory Road continues to make effective use of fighters from other top promotions, while setting up relevant matches that the fans want to see, and their potential to grow remains very high for the future.
