[Shamrock-Ortiz]

http://mmajunkie.com/news/14401/nam-...grand-prix.mma

Strikeforce veteran Nam Phan (15-5) will meet UFC and PRIDE vet Michihiro Omigawa (5-7-1) in the second round of Sengoku's recently commenced featherweight grand prix.

The fight takes place May 2 at Sengoku Eighth Battle, which is set for the National Yoyogi Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. The event airs in North American on HDNet.

Phan recently announced the bout, and World Victory Road is expected to reveal the full line-up of second-round matchups this week.

Phan, widely regarded as one of the featherweight division's top-15 fighters, advanced in the tournament with a first-round TKO of Hideki Kadowaki earlier this month. It was Phan's third victory in a four-fight span. The lone loss came via a controversial split decision to Billy Evangelista at Strikeforce's June 2008 event.

Phan will now meet Omigawa, a champion judo competitor who's had mixed results in MMA. Omigawa entered the Sengoku featherweight grand prix with a 0-3-1 record in his previous four fights, which included a 0-2 mark during a stint with the UFC from 2007-2008. However, Omigawa upset IFL and Affliction vet L.C. Davis in a first-round matchup to advance in the tournament.

Other remaining competitors in the 16-slot tournament include Nick Denis, Hatsu Hioki, Chan Sung Jung, Masanori Kanehara, Ronnie Mann and Marlon Sandro.

For the latest on Sengoku Eighth Battle, including the latest confirmed fight card, check out the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.

This is one of the things I love about GP's, everyone who makes it past the first round are now coming off wins. Omigawa a great win, upset of the night against LC Davis. A lot of people thought this was going to be LC Davis' tournament, where he showed some brilliance, Omigawa shut him down.

Nam Phan beat Kadowaki which was also impressive.

I think Phan is going to win a decision here, pretty up and down fight probably, 29-28 for Phan.

[Meshuggeth]

Now that LC Davis is out, I'm behind Nam Pham for the tournament.

[plazzman]

Still behind Hioki, but I'll definitely be supporting Omigawa as far as I can.

[Brad.Taschuk]

I want Jung and Denis to do well in this tournament, but I'm not sure how well either of them would fare with the match-ups that are left. I think these match-up would make me happy in the next round, although I'm intrigued to see what WVR's awesome matchmakers come up with:

Jung-Kanehara
Denis-Sandro
Hioki-Mann
Omigawa-Phan

Before the Davis fight I said Omigawa was the best 4-7-1 fighter in the history of MMA. Now he's the best 5-7-1 fighter in the history of MMA. I don't think by any means he'll be the favorite in this fight, but I'm going to be picking him.

Hioki is still the favorite though, dude is a ridiculously slick grappler, and has decent enough stand-up because he's so long. He just needs to put it together for 3 more fights in a row.

[JT42]

All the next round is gonna be fantastic but I see Phan taking this fight. However Hioki is still definitely the favorite and I think he will take it all

[Judoka]

I am supporting Omigawa 100% here, unlikely candidate to win but he is tough and skilled as a Judoka.