World Victory Road (WVR) is a Japanese MMA organization which promotes the Sengoku Raiden Championship in Japan. The organization was formed in 2007 following the purchase of Pride FC by Zuffa, the owners of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It operates in conjunction the Japan Mixed Martial Arts Federation (JMM). It is broadcast on Fuji TV and PPV in Japan, and on HDNet in United States.
Beginning with the December 31st show, Sengoku will be known as Sengoku Raiden Championship. "Raiden" means "thunder and lightning" and refers to a legendary 18th century sumo. WVR exec Kokuho said they hope that the initials "SRC" will be more palatable to international audiences. On March 12, 2011 it was reported that Don Quijote, a Japanese discount store chain serving as the primary sponsor of the promotion, had ceased all funding to WVR. That same day, WVR officials issued a press release stating that barring the sudden emergence of a new primary sponsor, the promotion was effectively finished.
Broadcast[]
The promotion received a boost in visibility in their endeavor to compete with DREAM when it reached a broadcast agreement for Fuji TV to televise matches in Japan. It was significant given the fact that this is the first MMA promotion to be televised on the network since it dropped PRIDE FC from its lineup in mid-2006. The events will be shown live on Fuji TV 739 and then a two-hour version later in the night on Fuji TV.[1]
On February 6, 2009, HDNet announced they had reached and agreement with WVR to broadcast its Sengoku-events in America starting March 20, 2009.[2]
Rules[]
WVR's rules differ somewhat from the North American Unified Rules. Among the differences are the allowance of knees and stomps to the head of downed opponent while elbows to the head and soccer kicks are prohibited.[3] Similar to the Unified Rules, fights have 3 rounds each lasting 5 minutes.
Sengoku events[]
| Date | Event | Location | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-03-05 | 01 – World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku Vanguard |  Tokyo, Japan
|
Yoyogi National Gymnasium | 15,523 |
| 2008-05-18 | 02 – World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 2 | Tokyo, Japan
|
Ariake Coliseum | 9,286 |
| 2008-06-08 | 03 – World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 3 | Saitama City, Japan
|
Saitama Super Arena | |
| 2008-08-24 | 04 – World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 4 | Saitama City, Japan
|
Saitama Super Arena | |
| 2008-09-28 | 05 – World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 5 | Tokyo, Japan
|
Yoyogi National Gymnasium | |
| 2008-11-01 | 06 – World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 6 | Saitama City, Japan
|
Saitama Super Arena | |
| 2009-01-04 | 07 – World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku Rebellion 2009 | Saitama City, Japan
|
Saitama Super Arena | |
| 2009-03-11 | '08 – World Victory Road Presents: Gold Rush Korea | Seoul, South Korea | Team Maru Training Center | |
| 2009-03-20 | 09 – World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 7 | Tokyo, Japan
|
Yoyogi National Gymnasium | |
| 2009-05-02 | 10 – World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 8 | Tokyo, Japan
|
Yoyogi National Gymnasium | |
| 2009-08-02 | 11 – World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 9 | Saitama City, Japan
|
Saitama Super Arena | |
| 2009-09-23 | 12 – World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 10 | Saitama City, Japan
|
Saitama Super Arena | |
| 2009-11-07 | 13 – World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 11 | Tokyo, Japan
|
Ryōgoku Kokugikan | |
| 2009-12-31 | 14 – Dynamite!! The Power of Courage 2009 | Saitama, Japan
|
Saitama Super Arena | 45,606 |
| 2010-03-07 | 15 – World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku Raiden Championships 12 | Tokyo, Japan
|
Ryōgoku Kokugikan | |
| 2010-06-20 | 16 – World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku Raiden Championships 13 | Tokyo, Japan
|
Ryōgoku Kokugikan | |
| 2010-07-04 | 17 – World Victory Road Presents: Asia Vol. 1 | Tokyo, Japan
|
Differ Ariake | |
| 2010-08-22 | 18 – World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku Raiden Championships 14 | Tokyo, Japan
|
Ryōgoku Kokugikan | |
| 2010-10-30 | 19 – World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku Raiden Championships 15 | Tokyo, Japan
|
Ryōgoku Kokugikan | |
| 2010-12-30 | 20 – World Victory Road Presents: Soul of Fight | Tokyo, Japan
|
Ariake Coliseum |
Notable fighters[]
Current champions[]
| Division | Upper weight limit | Champion | Since | Title Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Featherweight | 145 lb | Hatsu Hioki |
30 December 2010 (Soul of Fight) | 0 |
| Lightweight | 155 lb | vacant | 7 March 2010 (Sengoku Raiden Championship 12) | |
| Welterweight | 170 lb | Keita Nakamura |
30 December 2010 (Soul of Fight) | |
| Middleweight | 185 lb | vacant | 8 February 2011 |
Notable Fighters[]
Antonio Silva – Last EliteXC Heavyweight Champion- Blagoi Ivanov – 2008 World Sambo champion, +99 kg
- Mu Bae Choi – 1990 Asian Games -100kg Greco-Roman Wrestling Medalist
- Kazuyuki Fujita – Former PRIDE fighter
- Travis Wiuff – YAMMA Pit Fighting Heavyweight Tournament Champion
- Paweł Nastula – 1995 and 1997 Judo World Champion, 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist, -99 kg
- Muhammed Lawal – a.k.a. King Mo Former NCAA Division II Champion, 2004 U.S. Olympic alternate -84 kg
- Kevin Randleman – Former UFC Heavyweight Champion
- Yoshihiro Nakao – Former PRIDE fighter
- Evangelista Santos – Former PRIDE fighter
- Sanae Kikuta – Former ADCC Submission Wrestling World Champion
- Hidehiko Yoshida – 1992 Judo Olympic Gold Medalist -78 kg
- Kazuo Misaki – 2006 PRIDE Welterweight Grand Prix winner
- Maximo Blanco -2007 Pan American Games Bronze Medalist and Current Lightweight King of Pancrase
- Nick Thompson – Former BodogFight welterweight champion
- Makoto Takimoto – 2000 Judo -81kg Olympic Gold Medalist
- Satoru Kitaoka – Sengoku Lightweight Grand Prix and former Lightweight champion
- Antonio Braga Neto – 2008 World Jiu-Jitsu Gold Medalist
- Logan Clark – UFC and WEC veteran
- Eiji Mitsuoka – Former PRIDE fighter
- Seung Hwan Bang – Former DEEP Lightweight Champion Current pro-boxer
- Hatsu Hioki – Current TKO Featherweight Champion
- Chan Sung Jung – 2007 Pancrase Korea Neo-Blood Tournament Champion
- Satoshi Ishii – 2008 Olympic Judo Gold Medalist +99 kg
- Mamed Khalidov – KSW champion, EliteXC veteran
- Stanislav Nedkov – Bulgarian jiu jitsu champion
- Josh Barnett – former UFC heavyweight champion, PRIDE veteran
- Jeff Monson – 2005 -99 kg ADCC champion
- Xande Ribeiro – 2007 -99 kg ADCC champion
- Dave Herman – Elite XC, and Bellator veteran
References[]
- ↑ World Victory Road on Fuji TV?. MMA on Tap. March 21, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-04-09.
- ↑ Mendoza, Ricardo (February 6, 2009). HDNET REACHES DEAL TO AIR SENGOKU EVENTS. MMAWeekly.com. Archived from the original on 2009-03-23. Retrieved on 2009-02-07.
- ↑ Rules of WVR