Sengoku Plays Rodney Dangerfield: No Respect!

Sengoku is up and coming in the world of MMA and still no one seems to take notice. With a staff like Takanori Gomi, Frank Trigg, and Schultz, one would think somebody would. You'll soon find you're missing quite a bit.

Just drawing from Sengoku Four, we had blockbuster talent and big performances. The headliner featured highly underrated DEEP champion Seung Hwan Bang squaring off against PRIDE FC legend Takanori Gomi. Gomi was given all he could handle, but eventually wore Bang down and won by decision.

Next, we saw a PRIDE style grand prix. In this favorite, IFL KO artist Ryan Schultz lost to Shooto champ Mizuto Hirota. This further cements the status of Shooto fighters in MMA, following in the footsteps of Aoki. This should make the rest of the tournament a toss up, leading to exciting bouts all the way through.

Frank Trigg employed his bully strategy against Takimoto, grinding him out with takedowns and ground and pound. His vicious assault finally stopped at the end of round three when he took Takimoto to a decision, which he won unanimously. This may put Trigg up there as one of the top welterweights in the world once again.

Sengoku also has boasted top name heavyweights including Kevin Randleman, Kazyuki Fujita, and Josh Barnett. Unfortunately it looks like Barnett may be property of Affliction for the rest of his career.

However, it is somewhat odd that Sengoku rakes in talent post PRIDE while Dream is struggling. Dream has the same management from DSE that ran PRIDE. This leads one to  wonder about the conditions and morale fighters were kept under as PRIDE tanked it. Interesting...

Not only this, but on the slate for Sengoku Five is a middleweight grand prix that includes fighters like Cyborg Santos, Jorge Santiago, and Kazuhiro Nakamura. This should shape up to be another exciting night of fights.

With all the debate about whether or not Affliction can overtake the UFC, one should really wonder if Sengoku can overtake original heir to the PRIDE throne Dream. Again I say, interesting...