Sengoku is on the brink of collapse and may not survive until the end of the year, Fighters Only has been told by sources with links to the organisation. More than one agent is concerned that their fighters will have to try and find a new home in the very near future.

In the last couple of days it has been rumoured that Sengoku’s main sponsor Don Quijote, a major department store network in Japan, has switched its allegiance to FEG, parent of company of Sengoku’s Japanese rival DREAM.

An agent speaking to Fighters Only in Manchester last night said he had been told this rumour is true, and that Sengoku will be unable to continue operating at its current scale without the significant financial backing that the company brought them.

Earlier this week it was reported that Sengoku has cancelled its New Year’s Eve show and will instead be staging a co-promoted event with DREAM. This rumour appears to be true - the managers we spoke to certainly indicated so - and FEG is expected to begin talent-stripping Sengoku’s roster.

The news is a blow for the Japanese MMA scene and the international scene at large. Sengoku was never going to reach the heady heights of its predecessor PRIDE FC, but it looks like international-level fighters are going to be faced with their circuit shrinking even further as Sengoku apparently heads the way of the IFL, Affliction MMA, EliteXC and others.