Sengoku 14 Results; Santiago and Misaki go to war, Gono gets upset

Sengoku 14 delivered with an action-packed card from the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday. The card was filled with upsets, knockouts, submissions, groin shots, and a main event for the ages.

In said main event, Sengoku middleweight champion, Jorge Santiago, defended his title in a five round classic against former PRIDE tournament champion, Kazuo Misaki. Misaki controlled the first round with takedowns, ground control, and some strikes from top position, much like he did in their first fight back in January of 2009. In the second round, Misaki locked in a near fight-ending guillotine choke, but Santiago was able to barely escape. That round clearly belonged to Misaki. The third frame saw Santiago land a high kick that floored Misaki and put the challenger is serious peril. "The Grabaka Hitman" dug down deep and made it out as the fight continued. The fourth round was nothing short of incredible as Misaki dropped Santiago and nearly finished him with strikes. The desperate champion hung on but was docked a point by the referee after slipping through the ropes to avoid strikes. In the last thirty seconds, the American Top Team product dropped Misaki yet again but it didn't do enough to save him from what looked to be a 10-7 round with the point deduction. Santiago needed a big round 5 to win this fight and retain his championship and that's exactly what he got. He quickly scored a takedown and continued to pulverize Misaki with strikes upon strikes until, with only 29 seconds remaining, Misaki's corner threw in the towel and Santiago had his hand raised in victory. If Misaki was able to hold on for another 30 seconds, Santiago could have very well forced a must-decision win with a dominant fifth round. In my humble opinion, this is the leading candidate for fight of the year. If you don't believe me, see for yourself.

Watch the main event and get full results from the card after the jump.

At the top I spoke of upsets on the card, and none were bigger than Mongolian, Jadamba Narantungalag, who defeated Akihiro Gono. Narantungalag was a -650 underdog coming in the bout but the odds didn't seem to affect him in the slightest. He took Gono down repeatedly and beat him up with ground and pound throughout the three round contest to earn a unanimous decision verdict. Many wondered if Gono would be able to make a successful drop to lightweight at this stage of his career, and at this point, the answer is no.

Shooto champion, Hatsu Hioki, made his return to SRC and he did so in impressive fashion. Hioki quickly tapped Ultimate Fighter alum, Jeff Lawson, with a first round triangle choke submission win. With the victory, Hioki established himself as the top contender for Marlon Sandro's featherweight championship.

In a battle of accomplished jiu-jitsu competitors, Leonardo Santos got a DQ-win over Sotaro Yamada after Yamada repeatedly kneed Santos in the groin. The winner of this fight would have likely been considered for a potential shot at the vacant lightweight championship or lightweight tournament. It's unclear whether Santos is still in the running for said spot.

Sengoku's welterweight tournament continued with the last two bouts of the opening round. In the first fight, Yasubey Enomoto submitted Kenta Takagi with a bulldog choke in under a minute into the second round. Takagi went for a spinning back fist; Enomoto ducked under it, grabbed Takagi's neck, and locked in the bulldog choke for the tap out. Shooto veteran, Taisuke Okuno pulled off a big upset of his own as he knocked out former Bodog welterweight champion, Nick Thompson, in the third round. Thompson controlled most of the fight and was more than likely on his way to a decision win before Okuno turned on the offense and put "The Goat" face down into the canvas. The welterweight tournament semi-finals were announced for Sengoku 15. They will be Takuya Wada vs. Keita Nakamura and Yasubey Enomoto vs. Taisuke Okuno.

The quarter-finals of Sengoku's Asian Bantamweight Grand Prix also took place. Advancing into the semis will be: Shoko Sato, Wataru Takahashi, Jae Hyun So, and Shintaro Ishiwatari.

FULL RESULTS:
- Jorge Santiago def. Kazuo Misaki via TKO (corner stoppage) at 4:31 of round 5.
- Jadamba Narantungalag def. Akihiro Gono via unanimous decision (30-28, 30-29, 30-28).
- Hatsu Hioki def. Jeff Lawson via submission (triangle choke) at 2:09 of round 1.
- Leonardo Santos def. Sotaro Yamada via DQ (knees to the groin).
- Taisuke Okuno def. Nick Thompson via KO (punch) at 0:27 of round 3.
- Yasubey Enomoto def. Kenta Takagi via submission (bulldog choke) at 0:53 of round 2.
- Shintaro Ishiwatari def. Kil Woo Lee via submission (guillotine choke) at 2:20 of round 1.
- Shoko Sato def. Takuya Eizumi via TKO (doctor stoppage) at 1:38 of round 2.
- Wataru Takahashi def. Tatsuya So via submission (rear naked choke) at 4:34 of round 2.
- Jae Hyun So def. Hirokazu Nishimura via unanimous decision.
- Takuya Sato def. Motoki Miyazawa via unanimous decision (bantamweight GP reserve bout).