HIOKI MOVES TO SENGOKU SEMIFINAL, PHAN FINISHED

Saturday, May 02, 2009 - by MMAWeekly.com Staff
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World Victory Road on Saturday determined the final four participants for its Sengoku Featherweight Grand Prix semi-final round.

Hatsu Hioki, ranked No. 3 in the world at featherweight, wasted little time on Ronnie Mann. He dominated over the course of their three minutes in the ring, finally submitting him with a triangle choke. Hioki moves on to the semi-final round of the grand prix.

Also moving on is Michihiro Omigawa, who defeated No. 8 ranked Nam Phan with a controversial TKO stoppage late in the first round.

Joining them will be Masanori Kanehara, who won a decision over Chan Sung Jung, and Marlon Sandro after a 19-second finish of Nick Denis.

Following a dominating four-minute performance, Maximo Blanco was disqualified in his bout the Akihiko Mori. Blanco soccer-kicked Mori in the face while the Japanese fighter was on the canvas, which is illegal under Sengoku rules.

Featherweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal Round:
-Hatsu Hioki def. Ronnie Mann by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 3:09, R1
-Michihiro Omigawa def. Nam Phan by TKO at 4:52, R1
-Masanori Kanehara def. Chan Sung Jung by Unanimous Decision
-Marlon Sandro def. Nick Denis by TKO at 0:19, R1

Non-tournament bouts:
-Kazunori Yokota def. Leonardo Santos by Split Decision
-Alexandre Ribeiro def. Keiichiro Yamamiya by TKO at 0:51, R3
-Makoto Takimoto def. Michael Costa by Submission (Heel Hook) at 3:31, R1
-Stanislav Nedkov def. Travis Wiuff by TKO at 0:42, R3
-Akihiko Mori def. Maximo Blanco by Disqualification at 4:20, R1
-Shigeki Osawa def. Kota Ishibashi by Unanimous Decision
-Hirotoshi Sato vs. Yoshitaka Abe by Submission (Armbar) at 2:52, R1