World Victory Road

World Victory Road
Private
Industry Mixed martial arts promotion
Founded October 15, 2007
Defunct mid-2011
Headquarters Tokyo, Japan
Key people
 Naoya Kinoshita, President
Parent Japan Mixed Martial Arts Federation
Website http://www.src-official.com/pc/

World Victory Road (WVR) is a defunct Japanese Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) organization which promoted the Sengoku Raiden Championship (SRC) in Japan. The organization was formed in 2007 following the purchase of PRIDE FC by Zuffa. It operated in conjunction with the Japan Mixed Martial Arts Federation (JMM). The Sengoku championship was broadcast on Fuji TV and pay-per-view in Japan, and on HDNet in United States.

Beginning with the December 31 show, Sengoku was known as Sengoku Raiden Championship. "Raiden" means "thunder and lightning" and refers to a legendary 18th century sumo. WVR exec Kokuho said they hoped the initials "SRC" will be more palatable to international audiences.[1]

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.[2]

On February 6, 2009, HDNet announced they had reached and agreement with WVR to broadcast its Sengoku-events in America starting March 20, 2009.[3]

Rules

WVR's rules differ somewhat from the Mixed martial arts rules#Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. 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.[4] Similar to the Unified Rules, fights have three rounds each lasting five minutes.

Sengoku events

# Event Title Date Arena Location
20 World Victory Road Presents: Soul of Fight December 30, 2010 Ariake Coliseum Tokyo, Japan
19 World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku Raiden Championships 15 October 30, 2010 Ryogoku Kokugikan Tokyo, Japan
18 World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku Raiden Championships 14 August 22, 2010 Ryogoku Kokugikan Tokyo, Japan
17 World Victory Road Presents: Asia Vol. 1 July 4, 2010 Differ Ariake Tokyo, Japan
16 World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku Raiden Championships 13 June 20, 2010 Ryogoku Kokugikan Tokyo, Japan
15 World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku Raiden Championships 12 March 7, 2010 Ryogoku Kokugikan Tokyo, Japan
15 Dynamite!! The Power of Courage 2009 December 31, 2009 Saitama Super Arena Saitama, Japan
14 World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 11 November 7, 2009 Ryogoku Kokugikan Tokyo, Japan
13 World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 10 September 23, 2009 Saitama Super Arena Saitama City, Japan
12 World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 9 September 2, 2009 Saitama Super Arena Saitama City, Japan
11 World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku Gold Cup Semi Finals June 16, 2009 PS Lab Yokohama, Japan
10 World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 8 May 2, 2009 Yoyogi National Gymnasium Tokyo, Japan
9 World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 7 March 20, 2009 Yoyogi National Gymnasium Tokyo, Japan
8 World Victory Road Presents: Gold Rush Korea March 11, 2009 Team Maru Training Center Seoul, South Korea
7 World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku no Ran 2009 January 4, 2009 Saitama Super Arena Saitama City, Japan
6 World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 6 September 1, 2008 Saitama Super Arena Saitama City, Japan
5 World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 5 September 28, 2008 Yoyogi National Gymnasium Tokyo, Japan
4 World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 4 September 24, 2008 Saitama Super Arena Saitama City, Japan
3 World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 3 June 8, 2008 Saitama Super Arena Saitama City, Japan
2 World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 2 May 18, 2008 Ariake Coliseum Tokyo, Japan
1 World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku First Battle March 5, 2008 Yoyogi National Gymnasium Tokyo, Japan

Notable fighters

Current champions

Division Upper weight limit Champion Since Title Defenses
Featherweight 145 lb (66 kg; 10.4 st) Vacant 25 June 2011
Lightweight 155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st) Vacant 7 March 2010 (Sengoku Raiden Championship 12)
Welterweight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st) Japan Keita Nakamura 30 December 2010 (Soul of Fight)0
Middleweight 185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st) Vacant 8 February 2011

Notable fighters

References

  1. ↑ Nelson, Chris (Sep 23, 2009). "Snapshot of the Day: Sengoku Raiden Championship". BloodyElbow.com. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
  2. ↑ "World Victory Road on Fuji TV?. MMA on Tap. March 21, 2008". Retrieved 2008-04-09.
  3. ↑ Mendoza, Ricardo (February 6, 2009). "HDNET REACHES DEAL TO AIR SENGOKU EVENTS". MMAWeekly.com. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
  4. ↑ Archived December 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
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