How long before we see a rematch? Santiago’s belt wasn’t on the line…

Fans of mixed martial arts were once again treated to an action-packed weekend chock full of fights thanks to Strikeforce cranking out back-to-back shows as well as World Victory Road putting forth a bevy of top stars in the heat of battle for Sengoku: “Eleventh Battle.”

Strikeforce held its first CBS prime time mixed martial arts event on Saturday night (Nov. 7) from the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates, Ill., and lit up the Internet message boards with its “Fedor vs. Rogers” main event.

Did we see the greatest living mixed martial artist defeat a tough-as-nails heavyweight prospect? Or a bloated relic getting spoon-fed a former tire mechanic?

In addition to their heavyweight brouhaha, Jake Shields captured the promotion’s middleweight title, Gegard Mousasi won without defending his belt, and Fabricio Werdum took one step closer to an eventual showdown with “The Last Emperor.”

And Strikeforce did it all just one day after holding their “Challengers” event in Fesno, Calif., which once again saw lightweight veteran Jorge Gurgel abandon his ground game only to be outpointed on his feet — this time by Billy Evangelista.

Those MMA fans looking for some International flavor got their fill with the HDNet broadcast of Sengoku “Eleventh Battle” from Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan. While much of the talk surrounded Mamed Khalidov’s upset win over Jorge Santiago, international superstars Akihiro Gono and Kevin Randleman were also in action.

In cased you missed any or all of it — or just want to keep the discussion alive — below are links to all the major storylines coming out of all three events.

Let’s get to it.

Strikeforce: “Fedor vs. Rogers”

Nostradumbass predictions and preview

Weigh-in results

Results and live fight coverage

Recap and final thoughts

Preliminary CBS ratings

Sengoku: “Eleventh Battle”

Preview and predictions

Weigh-in results

Open thread and discussion

Results and recap

Strikeforce Challengers: “Evangelista vs. Gurgel”

Preview and predictions

Gurgel defiant on fight strategy

Weigh-in results

Results and live fight coverage

Recap and final thoughts

Remember that Strikeforce: “Evolution” is just around the corner — along with the all new “Sengoku Raiden Championship” on New Year’s Eve for the Japanese scene. Keep it locked in right here at MMAmania.com for all the coverage you can handle.

World Victory Road presents Sengoku: “Eleventh Battle,” taking place in the famed Sumo Hall, Ryogoku Kokugikan on November 7, has come to a close.

The event delivered a nine-fight card live via HDNEt and more than fulfilled the MMA enthusiasts’ thirst for thrilling competition, showcasing several wars of attrition, a barn burner of main event and a number of quick finishes that kept the live and TV audience on the edge of their seat.

As the last event of the year before the Sengoku Raiden Championship on New Year’s Eve, Sengoku 11 served as an invigorating prelude to the year-end extravaganza.

Without further ado, check out our complete fight recap after the jump.

Shigeki Osawa vs. Ronnie Mann

The night kicked off with a three-round scrap between the British prospect, Ronnie Mann and former amateur wrestling superstar, Kenji Osawa. Mann, the far more experienced of the two, staged a MMA clinic against Osawa, who made his debut on Sengoku’s main card.

Mann surprised many as he fearlessly pursued takedowns against the world class wrestler. He kept busy on the feet and on the ground to stay one step ahead of Osawa, threatening with several submission attempts. Osawa kicked up to a higher gear with forty seconds left in the final round, feverishly working the top control and ground-and-pound; however, his effort proved belated as Mann walked away with a majority decision.

Dave Herman vs. Jim York

Dave “Pee Wee” Herman notched another KO victory with a raw display of striking acumen. York took control of the stand-up exchange. With his hands hovering dangerously low, Herman got tagged repeatedly on the feet and found himself on the back. York snatched his feet for an ankle lock. Herman briefly countered with toe hold but switched gears to hammer York with heel strikes – Herman’s heel landed flush on York’s jaw to add another stoppage victory to the ledger of the unstoppable “Pee Wee.”

Marlon Sandro vs. Yuji Hoshino

In a match pitting the current champions of two Japanese promotions, Marlon Sandro took one home for Pancrase as he made a quick work of Cage Force featherweight champion, Yuji Hoshino.

After a sluggish start that saw the fighters stall in the clinch, Sandro exploded forward with a flurry of mile-wide hooks to counter Hoshino’s kick: Sandro’s strikes penetrated through the gaping void above Hoshino’s low guard and landed flush on the chin.

Having shut off Hoshino’s light, Sandro earned his 15^th career W and rebounded from the galling loss to Michihiro Omigawa in the semi-final round of the featherweight grand prix.

Akihiro Gono vs. Yoon Young Kim

Akihiro Gono forwent his trademark pageantry – he instead trudged to the ring with solemn expression. Upon his return to ring after a devastating KO loss to Dan Hornbuckle, he seemed devoid of his usual pizzazz: His nerves manifested in the frustratingly hesitant tussle he waged for the first two rounds.

The first round unfolded as a tentatively paced striking contest with both fighters’ trading low kicks and jab-right cross combinations. Round two proceeded in a similar fashion: Kim displayed crisp body punch combinations while Gono remained unable to pull his trigger. On the mat, Gono looked equally sluggish on the ground, content to maintain the top position.

Gono started the final round with urgency and staggered Kim with a right hand to the jaw. Finally displaying a semblance of momentum, he inflicted further damage with a series of punches and a jumping knee. Gono eked out a unanimous decision victory.

Immediately after the fight, he took the mic and demonstrated surprising English proficiency to deliver a message to his last opponent, Dan Hornbuckle: The humble veteran congratulated Hornbuckle for the victory in their bout and thanked him for the wake-up call to train harder. He concluded the message with a plea for rematch and word of encouragement in light of Hornbuckle’s possible showdown with Makoto Takimoto for the welterweight belt.

Kevin Randleman vs. Stanislav Nedkov

Upon his return to Japan, UFC and PRIDE veteran, Kevin Randleman met the undefeated Bulgarian prospect, Stanislav Nedkov for a three-round war of attrition. They traded takedowns and top control throughout the fight. An extremely close contest prompted two of the judges score it a draw and the third ruling in favor of Nedkov: In accordance with the promotional rule, the two judges were forced to overturn their verdict and pick the winner. In the end, Nedkov walked away with a split decision victory to keep his undefeated record intact.

Kazunori Yokota vs. Eiji Mitsuoka

In one of the two matches pitting top lightweight contenders, Mitsuoka and Yokota showcased a collision of “power and speed,” per the pre-fight billing. Mitsuoka showed his momentum in the first round by scoring takedowns, wearing off Yokota with knee strikes and dirty boxing from the clinch, and securing advantageous positions on the ground.

Yokota proved resilient in the second and third round, peppering Mitsuoka with crisp, straight punches. Mitsuoka kept pace with stifling wrestling but ultimately proved unable to do much more than locking up Yokota with body lock. Yokota also revealed a glimpse of his judo background with an exquisite judo throw in the second round.

After a three-round war of attrition, Yokota edged Mitsuoka with unanimous decision.

Satoru Kitaoka vs. Jorge Masvidal

After having his momentum halted and belt wrested, the former lightweight champion, Satoru Kitaoka experienced another deflating loss against Jorge Masvidal.

Kitaoka had his moment in the first round, as he threatened to wrench Masvidal’s foot off with his signature heel hook. Masvidal persevered and eventually spun out of the submission. After the arduous takedown and submission effort, Kitaoka precipitously lost steam. Seemingly on auto pilot, Kitaoka persisted for one anemic takedown attempt after another but Masvidal countered with guillotine choke attempt and mercilessly punished him with ground-and-pound. The first round ended with Kitaoka bruised and struggling to walk back to his corner.

Wobbling on his feet, Kitaoka started the second round with (gasp!) another takedown. Kitaoka dug deep for every last ounce of strength to lock in a toe hold that looked tight: Again, Masvidal spun out. A slumped heap of flesh at this point, Kitaoka gave another futile attempt for takedown but eventually succumbed to Masvidal’s barrage of punches.

With a stoppage victory, Masvidal made a strong case for title shot against the current champion, Mizuto Hirota.

Jorge Santiago vs. Mamed Khalidov

In the upset special of the night, Mamed Khalidov made a quantum leap from the obscure corner to the forefront of the MMA world.

In a non-title bout against the reigning Sengoku champion and top-ranked middleweight, Jorge Santiago, the Chechen-Polish fighter sent a shockwave throughout Ryogoku Kokugikan with his granite fist.

After a slow start to the fight which saw Santiago breeze through the first round with top control on the ground, Khalidov put an exclamation mark with a punch that turned the tide: After bucking Santiago off, he got up and stunned him with a single blow, forcing the champion to turtle up. Khalidov then swarmed him with a flurry of punches until the referee intervened.

Hatsu Hioki vs. Michihiro Omigawa

In an entertaining scrap to cap off the night, Hioki and Omigawa went toe to toe in a gripping stand-up action. After a feeling-out process on the feet to begin the first round, Omigawa landed a crisp right cross.

The first significant strike of the fight served as a wake-up call for Hioki to force Omigawa into his domain. He maintained top control and peppered Omigawa relentlessly with short punches. Toward the end of the round, he secured a back mount and rolled into an arm bar, forcing Omigawa at his mercy for the last thirty seconds.

In the second round, the two fighters continued with the action on the feet. While Omigawa sought to navigate past Hioki’s reach and land big shots, Hioki countered with short straight punches to keep his foe at the end of his reach. In addition to the rudimentary but effective striking, Hioki again showcased fluid grappling on the ground.

In the third round, Omigawa turned up the heat in the striking exchange. Though neither fighter showed a decisive advantage, Omigawa started finding the target with his punches and seized the momentum in spurts. The partisan crowd sat on the edge of their seat and went into frenzy over his valiant effort.

After fifteen minutes of feverish action, Omigawa walked away with a split decision victory that sent the HDNet broadcast team into throes of disbelief – a controversial decision that reeks of favoritism and dubious judging certainly puts a damper on the entertaining bout and punctuates an otherwise solid night of action on a sour note.

Stay tuned to MMAmania for post-fight reports and other scoops on the aftermath of the event.

With the penultimate month of the year under way, World Victory Road (WVR) is set to host Sengoku: “Eleventh Battle” TONIGHT (Nov. 7) at the famed Sumo Hall, Ryogoku Kokugikan, in Tokyo, Japan.

This will be the final event before WVR inaugurates the new “Sengoku Raiden Championship” banner on New Year’s Eve.

Sengoku 11 will air LIVE via HDNet beginning at 2:00 AM ET.

Besides boasting several marquee names, the fight card also serves as a prelude to the year end event: With at least three title contests scheduled on NYE, several fighters on the card will enter the ring for high-stake battles to earn the title shots.

For those of you Maniacs following the fights as they go down (or those of you that are just along for the ride), go ahead and sound off in the comments section with any results, news, photos and videos — it’s an open thread, so go crazy.

Just try your hardest to keep it Sengoku related.

Be sure to check back a little later this morning for our results and complete recap. In the meantime, have at it.

We want to hear from you.

If you need to get up to speed on what’s happening with this card be sure to check out our comprehensive “Eleventh Battle” preview here.

World Victory Road (WVR) held the weigh-in and pre-fight press conference earlier today for Sengoku 11, which takes place on Nov. 7 at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan.

It’s a a fight card stacked from top to bottom that includes several high-stakes battles heading into the colossal New Year’s Eve event. Sengoku 11 will airs LIVE in North America on Nov. 7 at 2:00 AM ET (Friday night running into Saturday) courtesy of HDNet.

The event sees a pair of veteran fighters — Kevin Randleman and Akihiro Gono — return to action. The night of action culminates with co-main events that feature the reigning middleweight champion, Jorge Santiago against the Polish standout and Sengoku newcomer, Mamed Khalidov, as well as the showdown between featherweight top contenders, Hatsu Hioki and Michihiro Omigawa.

Maniacs, stock up on Red Bull and midnight munchies!

Click here for the event preview.

Check out the complete Sengoku 11 weigh-in results after the jump:

FW: Hatsu Hioki (64.9kg / 143 lbs) vs. Michihiro Omigawa (64.9kg / 143 lbs)

MW: Jorge Santiago (83kg / 182.9 lbs) vs. Mamed Khalidov (82.4kg / 181.6 lbs)

LW: Satoru Kitaoka (70kg / 154.3 lbs) vs. Jorge Masvidal (70kg / 154.3 lbs)

LW: Kazunori Yokota (69.7kg / 153.6 lbs) vs. Eiji Mitsuoka (70kg / 154.3 lbs)

LHW: Kevin Randleman (92.1kg / 203 lbs) vs. Stanislav Nedkov (92.5kg / 203.9 lbs)

WW: Akihiro Gono (76kg / 167.5 lbs) vs. Yoon Young Kim (75.8kg / 167.1 lbs)

FW: Marlon Sandro (65kg / 143.3 lbs) vs. Yuji Hoshino (65kg / 143.3 lbs)

HW: Dave Herman (108.7kg / 239.6 lbs) vs. Jim York (116.3kg / 256.3 lbs)

FW: Shigeki Osawa (64.8kg / 142.8 lbs) vs. Ronnie Mann (64.6kg / 142.4 lbs)

“Fight of the Soul” (Intermission) – Featherweight – 2R x 5 min.
Hirokazu “Bull” Konno (64.8kg / 142.8 lbs) vs. Tomoaki Ueyama (64.7kg /42.6 lbs)

Opening Bout – Bantamweight – 2R x 5 min.
Yuichiro Yajima (56.8kg / 125.2 lbs) vs. Ryota Uozomi (56.8kg / 125.2 lbs)