World Victory Road

World Victory Road
Type Private
Industry Mixed martial arts promotion
Founded October 15, 2007
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 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 broadcasted on Fuji TV and pay-per-view in Japan, and on HDNet in United States.

Beginning with the December 31st 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.

Contents

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 unified rules of mixed martial arts [4] . 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.[5] Similar to the Unified Rules, fights have 3 rounds each lasting 5 minutes.

Sengoku events

Date Event Location Venue
2008-03-05 01World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku Vanguard Tokyo, Japan Yoyogi National Gymnasium
2008-05-18 02World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 2 Tokyo, Japan Ariake Coliseum
2008-06-08 03World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 3 Saitama City, Japan Saitama Super Arena
2008-08-24 04World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 4 Saitama City, Japan Saitama Super Arena
2008-09-28 05World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 5 Tokyo, Japan Yoyogi National Gymnasium
2008-11-01 06World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 6 Saitama City, Japan Saitama Super Arena
2009-01-04 07World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku Rebellion 2009 Saitama City, Japan Saitama Super Arena
2009-03-11 08 – World Victory Road Presents: Gold Rush Korea Seoul, South Korea Team Maru Training Center
2009-03-20 09World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 7 Tokyo, Japan Yoyogi National Gymnasium
2009-05-02 10World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 8 Tokyo, Japan Yoyogi National Gymnasium
2009-08-02 11World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 9 Saitama City, Japan Saitama Super Arena
2009-09-23 12World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 10 Saitama City, Japan Saitama Super Arena
2009-11-07 13World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 11 Tokyo, Japan Ryōgoku Kokugikan
2009-12-31 14Dynamite!! The Power of Courage 2009 Saitama, Japan Saitama Super Arena
2010-03-07 15 – World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku Raiden Championships 12 Tokyo, Japan Ryōgoku Kokugikan
2010-06-20 16 – World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku Raiden Championships 13 Tokyo, Japan Ryōgoku Kokugikan
2010-07-04 17 – World Victory Road Presents: Asia Vol. 1 Tokyo, Japan Differ Ariake
2010-08-22 18 - World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku Raiden Championships 14 Tokyo, Japan Ryōgoku Kokugikan
2010-10-30 19 - World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku Raiden Championships 15 Tokyo, Japan Ryōgoku Kokugikan
2010-12-30 20 - World Victory Road Presents: Soul of Fight Tokyo, Japan Ariake Coliseum

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) Keita Nakamura 30 December 2010 (Soul of Fight) 0
Middleweight 185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st) Vacant 8 February 2011

Notable Fighters

References

External links