World Victory Road's inaugural event kicked off on early Wednesday morning for all of us stateside. Although the event's fight card was fairly predictable, it still had a big upset, impressive finishes, and some overall good bouts between veteran fighters. The PRIDE-esque entrances and production were a breath of fresh air to many MMA fans who haven't been privy to the recent New Year's Eve blast of MMA action from Japan. The event also marked the much anticipated return of Takanori Gomi and Josh Barnett, both winning their first matches in over a year.

Gomi devastates Ludwig, Barnett submits Yoshida late

Although Gomi was hit with the first exchange from Duane "Bang" Ludwig, he still proved that his striking is much more precise and powerful than that of his opponent. In the following exchanges, Ludwig sustained a heavy cut and was nearly knocked out cold by the heavy hands of Takanori Gomi. Gomi followed with a counter left that finished Ludwig only 2:28 in the first round.

It isn't the most impressive win for Gomi considering Ludwig wasn't top notch competition, but it was fairly impressive in a sense that Gomi has had such a long layoff. He came into this bout as a heavy favorite and proved that his striking was much more superior. Hopefully World Victory Road can set Gomi up with some better talent to push his skills against.

Barnett defeated Yoshida late in the third round via a heel hook submission, improving his record to 21-5. From the start, the match hit the floor in mostly a technical grappling bout between the two. Yoshida struggled to sink in armlocks while Barnett defended by threatening with the anklelock/heel hook. Much of the fight revolved around Barnett's leg locks, and Yoshida escaped the holds effectively throughout the fight. As the second round ended, it was evident that Yoshida was beginning to gas out as well. The third round saw Barnett dominate on the ground, and he eventually sunk in a heel hook submission to end it. Yoshida was a formidable opponent for two rounds, but the technical prowess of Barnett and the fact that Yoshida was gassing could not hold off "The Babyface Assassin".

Barnett wasn't incredibly impressive in this bout, but then again, he hasn't been incredibly impressive in many of his recent bouts. He works rather slowly, but he still remains very technical on the ground. He still has the skill to submit nearly anyone on the ground, but I fear Fedor would have his way with him. He's still susceptible to strikes in the standup as well, and it really doesn't seem like he's improved in quickness or survivability on the feet either. Luckily for him, he was able to keep this one on the ground against a guy who really isn't known for his hands.

Other results

Kazuo Misaki def. Siyar Bahadurzada via submission (guillotine choke), Round 2, 2:02
Kazuyuki Fujita def. Peter Graham via submission (north-south choke), Round 1, 1:32
Evangelista Santos def. Makoto Takimoto via submission (heel hook), Round 1, 4:51
Ryo Kawamura def. Antonio Braga Neto via unanimous decision
Nick Thompson def. Fabricio Monteiro via unanimous decision

Bahadurzada was touted as an upcoming prospect, but his inability to finish lesser competition really leaned me toward Misaki in this battle. Bahadurzada could improve significantly with some more strength training, but as of right now, he will likely be overpowered by better competition.

Fujita's win was no surprise. Graham was outmatched in his debut MMA fight, and the matchup was unfavorable for Graham. Fujita's wrestling and iron chin combine for a formidable test for a new MMA fighter.

Santos provided the evening's lone upset with a submission win over Makoto Takimoto at 4:51 in the first round. I picked Santos as a long shot with the possibility of devastating Takimoto with a punch or two, but he surprised myself and everyone else by shutting Takimoto down with a leg hold.

Ryo Kawamura vs. Antonio Braga Neto was supposed to be a very close fight on paper, but Kawamura's power was the x-factor in this fight. Neto was very effective in round 1, mounting Kawamura twice and dealing some damage. Kawamura escaped later in the round and landed some heavy punches that stunned Neto momentarily. The second round was more of the same, but Kawamura made good use of the armlock attempts to defend against Neto's ground and pound. As the third round came into existence, it was evident that this was going to be a very close fight. Neto had a lot of takedowns in the matchup, but Kawamura was countering with flurries of damaging punches throughout the fight. At the end of the bout, Kawamura ended up taking the decision 3-0. According to some fans attending the event, this was because the judging apparently looked at striking more than ground tactics. An argument could be made for Neto.

Unfortunately, the Nick Thompson fight was much of the same judging. Thompson was taken down quite a few times by Monteiro, yet he was still able to win the bout by a 3-0 decision win. Monteiro was visibly upset and did not agree with the decision. It's mind boggling that he didn't win a round considering the multiple submission attempts and dominating position he had in some instances.

Overall thoughts

Gomi ended the thinking that he may be a bit rusty in his first fight back from such a long hiatus. Barnett looked like the classic Josh Barnett we know and love. His technical ground game is still very formidable, but I still feel that he lacks the standup defense to take on the top talent outside the UFC.

The judging for the event wasn't exactly the best. The criteria is obviously biased toward the striking game as opposed to ground tactics. Monteiro and Neto could both make cases for their decisions. Neither one of the fighters took a round in their battles even though it was evident that they had some dominating portions during their fight.

I'll look forward to more of these events. WVR had some nice production values, and the matchups were of good quality. It'll be interesting to see who they can matchup with Gomi next. Diaz? It's a possibility. Overall, I'd give Sengoku a C+. The judging really hurt it, but the matchups were more entertaining as the night went on.