Brendon Thorne/Getty Images
November 7, Sengoku XI will be live from the Ryogoku Kokugikan Hall in Tokyo, Japan. There will be a live broadcast to viewers on HDNet.
This card carries many intriguing matches. The featured match is a featherweight title No. 1 contender match between Hatsu Hioki and Michihiro Omigawa.
Below are the complete Sengoku 11 predictions from ProFighting-fans.com, a leading MMA news and fan site.
Dave Herman vs. “Big” Jim York
Slugging New Zealander Jim York takes to the Sengoku ring here to face up and comer Dave Herman. Herman is making his first return back to Sengoku since losing to “Disco Dancing Machine” Mu Bae Choi at the No Ran event in January.
York makes his second straight appearance in Sengoku having been submitted by Antonio Silva at Sengoku X.
Jim York is always looking for a standup fight. His downfall has and will continue to be his submission defense and skill off of his back. York has a record of 1-2 in Sengoku, his only win coming over James Thompson by KO.
He has losses to Yoshihiro “KISS” Nakao and Antonio Silva. The key to this fight for York will be to make the most out of any time where the fight is standing. In theory, York shouldn’t be able to stop a Dave Herman takedown. If and when York is on his back there is not a whole lot he can offer Herman.
Wrestling stud Dave Herman has amassed a 15-1 record in the short span of two years. His only lose to Mu Bae Choi was largely in part due to his lack of stamina. Up to the point where he gassed out, he was winning the fight.
Since then, Herman is 2-0 in smaller North American promotions with wins over legend Don Frye and Josh Barnes. Herman is with an actual fight camp now, C-4 MMA. We will see if that will help his stamina problems, not that this fight has the makings of a long war. Herman should be able to take down and submit York or TKO him from a dominant position.
Prediction - Herman by TKO
Kevin Randleman vs. Stanislav Nedkov
Kevin Randleman’s second fight since a brutal staph infection that kept him out of action for a year, he returns to Sengoku to take on Bulgarian wrestler Stanislav Nedkov.
Randleman in his one fight since the layoff, lost in Strikeforce to Mike Whitehead. Nedkov is undefeated in his career at 7-0 coming off his best win by TKO over Travis Wiuff at Sengoku VIII.
Randleman did not look himself in his return against Whitehead. Randleman was taken down repeatedly en route to losing a unanimous decision against Whitehead.
In this upcoming fight with Nedkov the deciding factor will be whoever is able to get the takedown and maintain a steady work rate from on top. Randleman needs to be the first one to initiate the ground game. Normally, I would say Randleman has the wrestling advantage. Who knows at this point if he is the same fighter.
Nedkov, pulling the upset, had a great win over Travis Wiuff in his last outing with some help from a couple of illegal shots to the groin. All in all it’s still a win. Nedkov’s plan is to get on top and work ground and pound.
Do you want to see this in full effect?
Watch his one and only fight in PANCRASE against Masayuki Kono. He quickly took down and TKO’ed Kono inside of two minutes. Again the x-factor is who is getting the takedown. The question is can Randleman be taken down by Nedkov? If Nedkov can get on top, expect him to win.
Prediction - Nedkov by Decision
Mamed Khalidov vs. Jorge Santiago
A non-title affair for Sengoku Middleweight Champion Jorge Santiago. A very tough fight taking on highly touted Polish prospect Mamed Khalidov. Santiago is fighting for the first time since January where he choked out Kazuo Misaki in one of the most thrilling fights all year. Khalidov is stepping up to the plate for the biggest fight of his career.
Mamed Khalidov holds a record of 19-3 with a well balanced amount of wins by TKO (8) and submission (10). You may remember him from ShoXC , where he manhandled Jason Guida by way of a second round TKO.
His last win was a quick, exciting KO over gatekeeper and former PRIDE fighter Daniel Acacio. This will be a very tough test for Khalidov as Santiago is a top ten middleweight in most rankings. Through striking or grappling both of these fighters can put on a close battle.
The only concern is that Khalidov is being thrown right into the fire in Sengoku. He certainly has the skills to be victorious.
0 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete