World Victory Road (WVR) was a 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 legendary 18th century rikishi,
Raiden Tameemon. 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.
Keita Nakamura
Muhammed Lawal – a.k.a. King Mo Former
NCAA Division II Champion, 2004 U.S. Olympic alternate -84 kg
Antônio Silva – Last
EliteXC Heavyweight Champion
Chan Sung Jung – 2007 Pancrase Korea Neo-Blood Tournament Champion
Paweł Nastula – 1995 and 1997 Judo World Champion, 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist, -99 kg
Stanislav Nedkov – Bulgarian jiu jitsu champion
Badr Hari − K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 & 2009 Finalist
Maximo Blanco -2007 Pan American Games Bronze Medalist, Lightweight King of Pancrase and current
UFC fighter.