The World Victory Road, Inc. is the newly formed mixed martial arts organization in Japan. Now that PRIDE has been gone for some time, the goal of the new promotion is to make MMA completely legitimate as a sport in Japan and eventually to have it join the other martial arts to become an Olympic sport.

Japanese Wrestling Association president and International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA) vice president Tomiaki Fukuda will serve as president of the new organization. Hiroshi Hase, a former Olympic wrestler turned puroresu superstar, and Takao Yasuda, chairman of Japanese discount chain Don Quijote, were announced as vice presidents. Naoya Kinoshita formally heads the organization.

The first official event, titled "Sengoku" is scheduled to take place March 5, 2008 at the Yoyogi First National Gymnasium. The word Sengoku consists of two Chinese characters "Sen" and "Goku" with "Sen" literally translating into "Fight" and "Goku" into "Master." Fighters who will be participating in this historic event will be: Hidehiko Yoshida, Sanae Kikuta, Makoto Takimoto, and Ryo Kawamura.

Sengoku will consist of a total of six weight classes:

• Heavyweight (205 pounds and above)
• Light Heavyweight (205 pounds)
• Middleweight (183 pounds)
• Welterweight (167 pounds)
• Lightweight (149.9 pounds)
• Featherweight (132 pounds)

General rules for the event will be a mix between North America's Unified Rules and PRIDE as well as HERO'S regulations.

Fights will consist of three five-minute rounds except for championship bouts, which will be five rounds. Knees on the ground and stomping will be permitted while elbows and "soccer" kicks will not be allowed under any circumstances.