It isn’t that rare nowadays that we get to see some top notch MMA events from both the North American market and the Asian market in the same weekend. Unfortunately for us, the IFL didn’t put on the best show in terms of excitement, but it was a venerable showing for a sinking ship. Most of the hardcore fans were simply tuning into the IFL’s event from the Mohegan Sun as a precursor to the real action that was going to begin in the wee hours of the morning on Sunday… Sengoku II.

Sengoku wasn’t as fantastic as it could have been, but it definitely gave the hardcore fans a dose of the medicine that they wanted. Josh Barnett and Jeff Monson squared off in an epic battle between two dangerous grapplers who both had the luxury of knowing what each other’s strengths were in the ring. Both fighters were former training partners, and it definitely showed during their matchup. Each man nullified one another’s submission attempts for most of the fight, and Barnett’s work ethic in top control was the only real factor in the decision win. It wasn’t a dominating performance by Barnett, but it was a clear victory for the “Babyface Assassin”. Monson will face a surging and strong Mike Russow in Chicago on June 14th at Adrenaline’s first MMA card while Barnett will battle Brazilian striker Pedro Rizzo in a rematch of their UFC 30 bout that saw Rizzo KO’ing Barnett.

Roger Gracie dominated Yuki Kondo from the beginning of the fight in their lead-up bout to the main event. It was clear that Roger had a ridiculous size advantage over Kondo, and it was the decisive factor in why Kondo wasn’t effective at all during the bout. Roger simply clinched, toppled onto Kondo, and worked his championship ground tactics to choke out Kondo in quick fashion.

Is Roger ready to begin a quest at obtaining the #1 spot in the world? It’s hard to say. He’s easily defeated both opponents with his superior jiu-jitsu techniques, but can he compete with top 10 talent so early in his MMA career? He’s definitely going to need some more tune-up fights before breaking into the elite, and his main area of concentration should be his striking. A decent striking game can set up those clinches, but he won’t have an easy time getting guys to the ground if he breaks into the top 5. He’ll definitely need some work, but he’s been impressive so far.

Kevin Randleman won a decision over Ryo Kawamura, and the fight went as expected. Ryo had little answer for the ground game that Randleman was trying to impose. For the most part, Randleman controlled from the top, but he wasn’t very effective in striking Kawamura during most of the fight. It didn’t help matters much as the fight went on because Randleman was gassing hard while Kawamura couldn’t even get to his feet. It wasn’t exactly the fight that the fans in Japan wanted to see, but Randleman did get a win under his belt after his horrific bout with the Staph.

The big KO of the night goes to Heath Herring’s love interest, Yoshihiro “Kiss” Nakao. Jim York put up a decent fight, and it wasn’t looking too good for Nakao as the fight entered the second round. Most of round one was a feeling out period, and York really didn’t take any damage whatsoever, but Nakao caught him in the second and charged in for the kill with a huge blow that knocked York out. Nakao is making some waves, but I think he’ll have some trouble on the ground.

Other action saw Jorge Santiago winning a tough battle with Yuki Sasaki via armbar, Eiji Mitsuoka defeating hard striking Kwang Hee Lee by RNC in round one, Mike Pyle pulled off the triangle choke to end Dan Hornbuckle’s chances near the end of their first round, and Satoru Kitaoka dominated XFC champ Ian Schaffa and ended it via guillotine choke in the first round.

Most of the preliminary bouts were predictable, but there was some decent showings from the losers on the card. Dan Hornbuckle had some great range, and in my opinion, was winning the exchanges until the triangle at the end of round one. Jorge Santiago had a scare during his bout from Sasaki’s striking, but he was able to push through and end the fight on an armbar. He continues his win streak and dominance.

Overall, I loved the action. There were some moments of boredom, but it was nice to see some good North American pedigree in the ring with some of Japan’s up-and-coming talent. Josh Barnett is finally on the road back to regularly fighting, and it can only help him in his quest to take on Fedor. Roger Gracie could very well be the man to beat Fedor down the road, but he needs some work on his all-around game.

And finally, can you say Kiss vs. Herring II: Valentine’s Day 2009? If it happens, let the laughing begin.

Randleman shows his horrible gas tank, but Kawamura has no way to counter the ground control

Great fight between two veteran combatants, check it out.

Santiago has a tough fight in this one, check it out.

Kwang has monster striking, but Mitsuoka has the ground tactics, who wins?

Kitaoka shows the XFC champ a thing or two about the real fight game...

Very good fight, in my opinion, for Mike Pyle. He had to overcome some big time reach and decent jiu-jitsu skills from Hornbuckle, and it wasn't looking too good for him until the latter part of the round. Impressive win.

Jeff Monson vs. Josh Barnett

A classic matchup between two veteran MMA combatants that will likely hit the floor before it ends on the feet. Monson (24-7) is most notable for being an outspoken anarchist, but also harboring one of the slickest submission ground games by a heavyweight. He’s finished 15 of his fights by submission in his career, and it’s likely that he’ll be looking for the same method to defeat Barnett.

Unfortunately for Monson, Barnett (21-5) is one of the best in the world at this juncture in his career, and he’s also a former training partner of Monson. It’s likely that both fighters have seen what the other is capable of on a regular basis, so this fight could extend to a decision due to both fighters nullifying each other’s ground games. Barnett, however, isn’t the type of fighter to head to decision unless he’s losing, and I don’t see him losing this one. Look for Barnett to use his size to his advantage and put this one away.

Josh Barnett via submission, Round 2

Kevin Randleman vs. Ryo Kawamura

“The Monster” is going to be a tough man to stop in this clash of styles. While Kawamura (8-2-2) has some venerable striking abilities, Randleman (16-12) still possesses very strong top control and ground abilities to nullify Kawamura’s heavy hands. There’s also the underlying fact that Randleman’s chin isn’t overly weak, and Kawamura may have a tough time sticking to his feet to put leather on Randleman’s chin for an extended period of time.

Randleman should get the win here on the ground with some punishing top control, and it’s unfortunate that WVR decided on this matchup. Kawamura definitely has some striking ability to display, and he could pull out a surprise knockout here, but I’m more inclined to believe that Randleman can control on the ground.

Kevin Randleman via TKO, Round 2

Roger Gracie vs. Yuki Kondo

This is a very interesting matchup for a number of reasons. First and foremost, Roger Gracie (1-0) is obviously a part of the legendary MMA family that is the Gracies, but he’s also only managed to fight in one MMA bout at BodogFIGHT. He won that bout in the first round via armbar over Ron Waterman, but hasn’t fought in any other events since the win. His credentials are extensive in the world of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and it’s a no-brainer that he’ll be looking to move the fight to the ground. Does Yuki Kondo want to be there with such an accomplished grappler?

Kondo (48-21-6) is one of the better Japanese fighters from the days of Pancrase with big wins over Frank Shamrock, Mario Sperry, Akihiro Gono, and Semmy Schilt, but he’s currently riding a .500 record in his last 10 fights. He has also been winning most of his fights via decision at this latter stage of his career. I wouldn’t count on Kondo being able to submit Roger, and it’s a mystery as to where his power has gone in his most recent fights.  For those reasons, I’m sticking to Roger Gracie winning his second career MMA fight. And no… Kondo doesn’t want this fight on the ground. Look for Roger to push the submission.

Roger Gracie via submission, Round 2

Jorge Santiago vs. Yuki Sasaki

Santiago (16-7) has been on a tear recently. With four straight wins including the Strikeforce tournament in November of last year, Santiago is surging back onto the scene as an explosive Middleweight. Wins over Trevor Prangley, Sean Salmon, Jeremy Horn, and Andrei Semenov have catapulted the UFC washout into creating some better fights for him, and the upcoming battle with Sasaki could very well be the beginning of some decent matchups in Japan.

Sasaki (21-13-1) is mainly a submission fighter. He’s been susceptible to the heavy hands in the past, but he’s mostly stuck to the floor in his more recent losses. It’s no doubt that Sasaki has a tough test ahead. Santiago will likely have some deep BJJ skills, and his training at American Top Team will only help solidify his skillset to be a tough counter for Sasaki’s skills. Look for Santiago to continue the streak with a big win here.

Jorge Santiago via KO, Round 1

Quick Picks
Dan Hornbuckle vs. Mike Pyle: It’s interesting that Hornbuckle is from Mahomet, IL, only a mere 15-20 minutes from my hometown, but that doesn’t make him a favorite in my mind in this fight. Although I love the local MMA scene and Hornbuckle’s record of 15-1 sounds impressive, he hasn’t fought the tough competition that Mike Pyle has endured. Mike Pyle via submission, Round 1

Kwang Hee Lee vs. Eiji Mitsuoka: Lee has exploded onto the scene with five devastating wins via TKO/KO in his first five battles in the ring. He’s going to have a tougher time with Mitsuoka though, who has some great experience against top competition at Lightweight including a win over Joachim Hansen in November. It should be a decent fight, but Mitsuoka’s toughness should prevail. Mitsuoka via submission, Round 1

Satoru Kitaoka vs. Ian James Schaffa: A bit of a toss-up here, but Kitaoka definitely has the edge in experience here. Schaffa has fought some very tough competition, but has lost every opportunity to gain some ground as being a star in the division. Kitaoka has a very good submission game, and I think he’ll use his experience on the ground to best Schaffa.  Kitaoka via submission, Round 2

Yoshihiro “Kiss” Nakao vs. Jim York: I have to pick “Kiss” here just because… why not? He has faced some very good competition over his career, and managed to maintain a 6-1 record while doing it. Although not the most prominent finisher, he should be able to defeat the inexperienced York. I say inexperienced because he’s faced mostly losing fighters for his 10 fight career. Nakao via decision