Faber makes 135 debut vs Mizugaki 8/18

FABER MOVES TO 135LBS, FACES MIZUGAKI AUGUST 18
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Tuesday, June 08, 2010 - by Damon Martin - MMAWeekly.com[/FONT]

Urijah Faber will now officially be a problem for the bantamweight division.

The former WEC featherweight champion will make the move down to 135lbs for his next fight on August 18 as he faces Japanese fighter Takeya Mizugaki in the WEC.

The bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the fight stating bout agreements have been issued at this point for the bantamweight showdown.

After a successful run at featherweight that including a long title reign, Urijah Faber (23-4) ran into a tough contest in his last fight, facing current 145lb king Jose Aldo at the first ever WEC pay-per-view. Faber lost a unanimous decision to the Brazilian champion, and afterwards speculation began immediately about a move down in weight for the "California Kid."

Faber had gone back and forth with the decision due to teammate and close friend Joseph Benavidez also competing in that division, but ultimately he's decided to make the move and will face a tough test in his first fight at 135lbs.

Takeya Mizugaki (13-4-2) made quite the impression on American fans during his WEC debut in 2009 after stepping in as a late replacement to face then champion Miguel Torres for the bantamweight belt. Mizugaki lost a decision to Torres, but gained a slew of fans after battling for every second in the fight, and proving he could hang with the best in the world at 135lbs.

Since that time, Mizugaki has gone 2-1 in the WEC with wins over Jeff Curran and most recently over Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace Rani Yahya at the WEC pay-per-view in April. The Japanese heavy hitter will be the first to welcome Faber to the division in August.

The August 18 event has not yet been announced by the WEC, but early indicators are that the show will take place in Las Vegas. MMAWeekly will have more information about the show as it becomes available.





This is great news IMO. I think Urijah is still a top 10 p4p level fighter but at this point he needed a change since he went 0-2 vs Brown and was dominated vs Aldo. I think its time for him to drop a weight and try to expand his legacy and maybe depending on how Benavidez fares in a potential rematch with Cruz then Urijah could try and add the 135 title to his resume. Facing Takeya Mizugaki is beautiful IMO and its typical Urijah the guy doesnt go around asking for softies. Mizugaki is a legit top 10 Bantamweight with an iron chin, good TD and Sub defense and has heavy hands. Im very exicted for this bout.

 

Id say since you got Faber-Mizugaki and Benavidez-Cruz II for the title you take Jorgenson, Bowles, Torres and Damacio Page and put them in some fights. Id probablly go with Torres vs Page and Jorgenson vs Bowles. Jorgenson and Damacio are on the rise and havent had any title shots I think especially if its Jorgenson this guy deserves a title shot soon. They cant keep just giving Urijah a title shot when he wins one fight remember he wins the Jens rematch ok title shot, beats Assuncao ok title shot and this would be the same. It all really depends on what the hell happens with Cruz-Benavidez II. But my feeling is this still Jorgenson in with the former Champ Bowles if he wins then give him a title shot if he doesnt then id say go with Urijah if Cruz is the Champ but if Benavidez wins then maybe go for a fight with Damacio Page of course he beats Torres. Everything is so up in the air right I have no clue WTF is going to happen.

 

Haha thats what im saying its a mind****. Im here in my head going through like 20 different fights and having no clue who the hell is going to win any of them. IMO any of these guys could be Champion in this divison or be Champion agian.