Eiji/French & Gono/Hornbuckle at Sengoku 9 & Antonio Silva Returns September

thesimpleone · 06-30-2009, 05:47 PM

News - Dan Hornbuckle to face Akihiro Gono at Sengoku 9 | MMAFighting.com

Midwestern fighter Dan Hornbuckle will be Akihiro Gono's opponent at Sengoku 9 on August 2 in Saitama, Japan, World Victory Road announced today.
Hornbuckle (17-2) fought once before for the promotion, tapping to a triangle choke by Mike Pyle at Sengoku 2 in May 2008 that snapped a 13-fight win streak.

He'll be looking to spoil Gono (29-14-7)'s return to Japan after over two years away competing for the UFC. Known for his extravagant entrances, Gono is promising something new for August 2.

FIGHT CARD:

Satoru Kitaoka vs. Mizuto Hirota (Lightweight Title)
Winner of Hioki-Kanehara vs. Winner of Omigawa-Sandro (Featherweight GP)
Hatsu Hioki vs. Masanori Kanehara (Featherweight GP)
Michihiro Omigawa vs. Marlon Sandro (Featherweight GP)
Kazuhiro Nakamura vs. Kazuo Misaki (#1 Middleweight Contender)
Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Blagoi Ivanov
Yoshihiro "KISS" Nakao vs. Choi Mu Bae
Eiji Mitsuoka vs. Clay French
Akihiro Gono vs. Dan Hornbuckle

Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva likely for Sengoku in September, return to U.S. action possible | MMAjunkie.com

Former EliteXC heavyweight champion Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva (12-1) will likely appear at the as-yet-unannounced World Victory Road's "Sengoku 10th Battle" event in September.

Silva's manager and American Top Team founding manager, Alex Davis, today informed MMAjunkie.com Radio (MMAjunkie.com Radio | MMAjunkie.com) of the potential bout, as well as his client's desire to return to action in the U.S.

"I think that probably by next year you'll see him back in the U.S.," Davis said. "I'd like him back in the States; that's our goal. Right now we still have a contract with Sengoku. He's probably going to fight in September. If that goes well, possibly for a Sengoku title at the end of the year."

Silva is currently suspended in the U.S. following a failed drug test after a July 2008 bout with Justin Eilers under the EliteXC banner. Silva and his American Top Team camp have remained adamant that the heavyweight never touched any sort of performance enhancing drug, despite the claims to the contrary by the California State Athletic Commission.

Despite the troubles with the CSAC, Davis believes Silva will fight again in the U.S.

"You're going to see him back in the very near future," Davis said. "I think we're past that problem with the commission. It was very unfortunate."

Silva, who is currently on a five-fight win streak, last fought in a January win over Yoshihiro Nakao for Sengoku. Davis believes it's important for "Bigfoot" to return to the U.S. in order to fulfill the massive potential his client has shown in flashes during his four-year-old career.

"Once we get him [Silva] in the picture, and once he's feasible again, we're open," Davis said. "Who knows? It could be UFC, could be Strikeforce, could be Affliction – wherever he has good fights that make sense. Antonio needs to fight the big names.

"Antonio is capable of being the best heavyweight in the world. It's not because I manage him. It's because I know the guy. I've seen him grapple with the Nogueira brothers. Everybody has seen his striking, which he just learned in the last three years. The guy is a phenomenal athlete. He could give Fedor the fight of his life, I'm absolutely sure of that. We just need to get him against those big names again so he can prove it."

Eiji via Submission and Akihiro via Dec

A good addition to an already fantastic card.

Big Daddy Kane · 06-30-2009, 06:18 PM

hornbuckle via major ass whoopin

DBHK · 06-30-2009, 06:44 PM

Awesome card.