LAS VEGAS – It’s hard to get a bigger stage than a title fight, but as far as Takeya Mizugaki is concerned, his fight against Urijah Faber at WEC 52 on Thursday is just as big.
Mizugaki is just 18 months removed from his WEC debut, a bantamweight title fight against then-champ Miguel Torres in Torres’ Chicago backyard. Though he lost a unanimous decision, he was the first fighter to ever take Torres five rounds.
Mizugaki (13-4-2, 2-2 WEC) is 2-1 since that loss to Torres, losing to top bantamweight contender Scott Jorgensen by decision last December and winning decisions over Jeff Curran and Rani Yahha – though many observers thought Curran beat him. He finds himself back on the big stage, main eventing against the company’s poster boy, who is dropping down from featherweight to fight at 135 pounds for the first time.
“To me, this fight is as big as when I fought Miguel Torres for the WEC (bantamweight) title,” Mizugaki said through his translator, Shu Hirata, Tuesday at The Palms in Las Vegas. “I feel like I’m challenging Urijah because he’s one of the stars of the WEC, so this is almost the same value as a title fight.”