For the biggest part of his UFC and WEC career, bantamweight fighter Takeya Mizugaki battled to find steady ground after gaining a reputation for being one of the toughest fighters in the division.
Toughness and a willingness to go to war with opponent…
For the biggest part of his UFC and WEC career, bantamweight fighter TakeyaMizugaki battled to find steady ground after gaining a reputation for being one of the toughest fighters in the division.
Toughness and a willingness to go to war with opponents makes for fun fights, but it doesn’t always equal wins. Mizugaki found that out the hard way as he bounced back and forth between wins and losses for nine straight fights between the two promotions.
Recently, however, Mizugaki has started to put together a solid winning streak that now stands at three in a row after defeating highly touted prospect Erik Perez at UFC Fight Night 27 last week.
Heading into the fight, Perez was being looked at as the next potential top-10 fighter for the division, but he had to get through Mizugaki to get there. Obviously, it didn’t work out too well for him.
Mizugaki was the crisper striker throughout the fight and continuously beat Perez to the punch over the course of the full 15 minutes. Win or no win, the Japanese bantamweight is still his own harshest critic, and he knows he wasn’t flawless in his execution regardless of the result.
“I was able to take him down at the crucial points of the fight, so that was good, but in overall, I feel I still have two problems,” Mizugaki said about her performance. “My method of offense, and also, I took too much time defending on takedown attempts. So, out of perfect 100 I would have to rate my performance to, about 70.”
When the final judges’ scorecards came back, Mizugaki was given the nod via split decision, although no one could understand how he didn’t win the fight across the board. Following the event at the post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White said as much, but was happy that at least the right fighter got the win.
There is no doubt when the split decision score was read, Mizugaki felt his stomach drop to his knees because this isn’t first time he’s faced a dubious scoring decision. While his current win streak stands at three in a row, it could easily be five if not for a unanimous-decision loss to Chris Cariaso that virtually everyone scored for Mizugaki.
The fight was so lopsided, White even paid him his bonus money despite the scorecards saying he lost.
“I was very surprised. I thought all three judges would give me that fight,” Mizugaki said. “I guess I am bit sensitive when it comes to decision since that Cariaso fight though. Dana tweets a lot about decisions and I always thought he is right on most cases. Although he has no power to overturn the decision I feel he puts fighters on the bright side. And, in that Cariaso fight, UFC did pay me a win bonus so I felt saved.”
In many ways, the win over Perez was Mizugaki turning the corner on his career. For most of his time in the bantamweight division in the UFC or WEC, he’s been regarded as a gatekeeper to the top 10. His only losses have been to the top guys in the sport, but beating a fighter like Perez, who was being looked at as a serious prospect, is a huge moment for the veteran fighter.
Was this a watershed moment for Mizugaki because he’s been training differently or with a new camp? No, according to Mizugaki it’s a focus he’s gained as he gets ready to say goodbye to his 20s and hello to his 30s and knows that he can’t fight forever.
“This is a difficult question. I didn’t really make any big changes,” Mizugaki said. “One thing is, I am going to turn 30 this year, so I began thinking how much time I have left as a professional fighter, so, that actually puts me into a better prospective (sic), perhaps, shifted me to a right direction, sort of speak.”
Three wins in a row plus the last coming over Perez have put Mizugaki in an advantageous position in the bantamweight division. He’s looking at the rankings, and while he’s not naming anyone in particular, everyone in the top 10 has a target on their backs.
“I don’t have any specific fighter in mind but I want to do a fight that would lead me to the title fight,” Mizugaki said. “I just defeated Perez who was on a three-fight win streak in the UFC; therefore, yes, I think I deserve a top-10 opponent in my next fight.”
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
That’s some hit, man. (I’m so sorry.) PicProps: Esther Lin / MMAFighting
So BG is gone this week, I assume to yet another wedding, because once he bought the tuxedo he was determined to get the mileage out of it. Seriously, he’s got the whole bit: natty little straight cane with the white tips, monocle, top hat, the whole nine. It’s dashing, but apparently it’s expensive as hell. That or he’s running some kind of scheme where he collects disposable cameras and plastic champagne flutes? What the fuck are you building in there, Goldstein?
So anyway, I’m poking around his office here at CP headquarters, kick over a box of CagePotato Hall of Fame t-shirts, and damn if i didn’t stumble over the ol’ arbitrariest of MMA supercomputers: the Potato Index.
Turns out it’s been hooked up this whole time, so I decided to pull up the numbers on UFC’s Fight Night 27, just for old times’ sake.
The Octagon Girls +16
The new Octagon Girls are lovely. Chrissy Blair is the archetypal California Girl; think Christie Brinkley in a Ferrari, but blonder. And the new brunette one getting tattoos exactly like Brittney Palmer’s was a nice touch.
Kansas City fighters + 42 Zak Cummings [+19] and Jason High [+23] both picked up their first UFC wins with good-looking performances. Jason High had previously lost to Erick Silva in June and Charlie Brennamen back in 2010, mostly because Joe Silva likes to call High on short notice for not-easy fights. The Kansas City Bandit gets a big bump with a quick win.
Abel Trujillo +11
Trujillo picks up the best kind of No Contest: the kind that comes from a foul that is both uber-agressive and debatable. Attacking grounded fighters with knees will always stir the passions; if Trujillo were a savvy marketer, he would start coming to the cage in a Hannibal mask and a straight jacket. A straight jacket covered in sponsor patches. Dana White would get a visible boner.
Roger Bowling -5
Unfortunately, according to (arbitrary) opinion, it’s better to take the loss in the cage and get the NC declared later. But enjoy your short-term memory and normal brain function. (Pussy.)
That’s some hit, man. (I’m so sorry.) PicProps: Esther Lin / MMAFighting
So BG is gone this week, I assume to yet another wedding, because once he bought the tuxedo he was determined to get the mileage out of it. Seriously, he’s got the whole bit: natty little straight cane with the white tips, monocle, top hat, the whole nine. It’s dashing, but apparently it’s expensive as hell. That or he’s running some kind of scheme where he collects disposable cameras and plastic champagne flutes? What the fuck are you building in there, Goldstein?
So anyway, I’m poking around his office here at CP headquarters, kick over a box of CagePotato Hall of Fame t-shirts, and damn if i didn’t stumble over the ol’ arbitrariest of MMA supercomputers: the Potato Index.
Turns out it’s been hooked up this whole time, so I decided to pull up the numbers on UFC’s Fight Night 27, just for old times’ sake.
The Octagon Girls +16
The new Octagon Girls are lovely. Chrissy Blair is the archetypal California Girl; think Christie Brinkley in a Ferrari, but blonder. And the new brunette one getting tattoos exactly like Brittney Palmer’s was a nice touch.
Kansas City fighters + 42 Zak Cummings [+19] and Jason High [+23] both picked up their first UFC wins with good-looking performances. Jason High had previously lost to Erick Silva in June and Charlie Brennamen back in 2010, mostly because Joe Silva likes to call High on short notice for not-easy fights. The Kansas City Bandit gets a big bump with a quick win.
Abel Trujillo +11
Trujillo picks up the best kind of No Contest: the kind that comes from a foul that is both uber-agressive and debatable. Attacking grounded fighters with knees will always stir the passions; if Trujillo were a savvy marketer, he would start coming to the cage in a Hannibal mask and a straight jacket. A straight jacket covered in sponsor patches. Dana White would get a visible boner.
Roger Bowling -5
Unfortunately, according to (arbitrary) opinion, it’s better to take the loss in the cage and get the NC declared later. But enjoy your short-term memory and normal brain function. (Pussy.)
Darren Elkins +14
Elkins survived a vicious body attack in the first and a dangerous grappling attack in the second and third. “Surviving” does not tend to lead to big gains in esteem, as witnessed by Elkins being bounced to the prelims despite a 7-2 UFC record, and minimal gains here.
Hatsu Hioki -27
Attacking Hatsu Hioki on the ground, with a leg lock, should be like picking a fight with Iron Man while wearing your own home-made power armor. But that’s exactly what happened, after Hioki had failed to put away a visibly hurt Elkins in the first round. Hioki is now 0-3 in the UFC, so don’t expect to see him before the organization returns to Japan.
Brandon Thatch +38
There’s a first appearance, and then there’s a debut. One you need to look up, and one just stands out. In 1 minute and 23 seconds of full-blown Tekken button-mashing mode, Thatch introduced himself to a whole bunch of new people.
Justin Edwards: -23
Poor Justin Edwards. Where previously he was always being mentally associated with this guy, now people are always going to mentally associate him with 82 seconds of gloriously violent interpretive dance. Expect Edwards to get another chance to redeem himself, but that’s a harsh beating to take.
TUF 18: Rousey vs Tate: +8
The latest incarnation of the Ultimate Fighter competition show continues to draw buzz with its first female inclusion, while Cat Zingano [-4] has been effectively forgotten. At least the UFC has a legitimate challenger after Tate suffers her second disarticulation loss.
Dylan Andrews: +18
Andrews looked to be losing a grappling match until he uncorked an economy three-pack of Aussie brand Uppercut that tucked Papy into Abedi in the third round. [Ed. note: The computer is unable -or unwilling – to apologize for this.] Carrying that kind of power late into the fight, even when injured, makes Andrews a scary opponent. Andrews lost points for calling his uppercut his “money shot”, because human fluids are disgusting.
Papy Abedi -11
Abedi kept his grappling attack entertaining, with some slick trips and a high-amplitude slam. His chin looks to be suspect, but that shouldn’t stop him from getting a call again, particularly when friend Alexander Gustafssen is on the card, or the UFC is visiting Europe.
Brad Tavares +17
Tavares showcased some powerful strikes without going complete Manhoef, possibly pacing himself for a tough fight. It was a good performance in that it showed potential, but it was outshone by a card packed with stoppages.
Bubba McDaniel -19
If your name is Robert, but everyone calls you “Bubba”, you have to be a tough SOB and you have fight to scare people [See also: “Tank”, “Barbie”]. McDaniel is not living up to expectations – late rally notwithstanding – and he’s only a couple of wins away from being “Rob”. If he taps to strikes he goes straight to “Bobby”.
Takeya Mizugaki +17
Mizugaki gets a bigger bump than the judges would indicate, with an intelligent performance that affirms his place in the bantamweight elite.
Erik Perez -6
No shame in a loss to Mizugaki, but it will slow the hype train. Perez stayed predictable enough for Mizugaki to counter sharply, and this should be an excellent learning opportunity for the 23 year old Perez.
Court McGee +5
Reports of McGee’s demise are greatly exaggerated. He is still very much alive and active, and earned a slim split decision in a very close fight. This fight is notable in that scores vary wildly from all sources, including the official judges, who scored the bout 30-27, 29-28, and 27-30. The notable aspect is that none of these official scores are indefensible. It is a curious, aberrational result that indicates a different scoring protocol should be investigated.
Robert Whittaker -5
Whittaker was on the losing end of a curious, aberrational result that indicates a different scoring protocol should be investigated, so now would be an opportune time for someone to approach him with a petition. The close result would seem to make the two interchangeable in the rankings for the near future.
Kevin Gastelum +36
Gastelum steps out at welterweight for the first time, and steps up on the Index with a convincing showing of boxing offense to augment his touted wrestling base.
Brian Melancon -21
Melancon was a late replacement for Paulo Thiago, which is enough to by him enough goodwill for another fight. That said, anybody at 170 pounds (always a packed division) that came from Strikeforce is on thin ice to begin with.
Rafael dos Anjos +34
Any winner over Cerrone puts the division on notice. A matchup against a convalescing T.J. Grant has been suggested, and seems entirely appropriate later this fall.
Donald Cerrone -16
Donald Cerrone has solidified his role the gate keeper at 155, which is not terrible by any stretch. He’s solidly in the Top 10, and he’s 584% more entertaining than a “You must be this _______ tall to fight the champ” sign.
Carlos Condit +37
A convincing win that completely erases any previous loss, Condit is riding high. Future Twitter fights or a well-phrased YouTube video could cause another slide on the Index, however. Like Cerrone, Condit is a perfectly-placed yardstick at 170 pounds — there doesn’t appear to be anyone not named St. Pierre* better than Condit.
Martin Kampmann -21
Look at Kampmann’s face when Dean waves the fight off. He’s not arguing, he’s bewildered – Kampmann’s just hoping someone got the license plate of that low-flying gang of ninja monkeys that just attacked him. (His face after the fight wasn’t much better.) Expect the Danish Hitman to come back with a vicious win after this, possibly rocking a different look going forward.
*Or Hendricks, as reader Scott Johnson rightly points out. Clearly, the Potato Index Super Computer IS BUGGY AFTER NOT BEING USED FOR SO LONG GAH. Asshole.
The UFC’s new Fox Sports 1 series continues to fill out with new fight announcements, the latest of which is a bantamweight match between Takeya Mizugaki and Erik Perez.The bout, first reported by MMA Weekly, has been added to UFC on Fox Sports 1 2, wh…
The UFC’s new Fox Sports 1 series continues to fill out with new fight announcements, the latest of which is a bantamweight match between TakeyaMizugaki and Erik Perez.
The bout, first reported by MMA Weekly, has been added to UFC on Fox Sports 1 2, which will be the second installment of the series. The event is set for August 28 and will be headlined by Carlos Condit and Martin Kampmann.
Mizugaki will enter the contest having strung together victories for the first time during his UFC tenure. The Japanese striker is 4-2 with the promotion, most recently defeating Bryan Caraway via split-decision.
His opponent, Perez, is unbeaten inside the Octagon, having put together a spotless 3-0 record to date. Even more impressive than the results Perez has posted is the manner in which he has posted them—all dominant, all finishes and all ending in Round 1.
Perez’s UFC on Fox Sports 1 2 battle will mark the stiffest test of his career, however, so his streak of quick finish—and victories—is very much in jeopardy.
Regardless of the outcome the match eventually produces, the fans will undoubtedly count themselves winners. Both Perez and Mizugaki are reputed for their aggression and willingness to mix it up early and often, and it’s difficult to recall spying either take part in anything that so much as resembles a dull affair.
Mizugaki vs. Perez joins HatsuHioki vs. Darren Elkins as the latest additions to the UFC on Fox Sports 1 2 card, which will also feature stars like Donald Cerrone, Kelvin Gastelum, Sara McMann and Court McGee.
It is shaping up to be a very solid night of fights indeed.
Takeya Mizugaki is hoping the 11th time is the charm. Now, to explain the meaning behind that you have to look no further than checking out the long-time UFC and WEC bantamweight’s record to see the unusual nature of his resume. For 10 fights in a row,…
Now, to explain the meaning behind that you have to look no further than checking out the long-time UFC and WEC bantamweight’s record to see the unusual nature of his resume.
For 10 fights in a row, Mizugaki has bounced back and forth between wins and losses while fighting in the UFC or WEC—an inauspicious record to say the least, and something that the Japanese fighter admits haunts him when he thinks about how some of those defeats could have easily gone the other way.
In reality, Mizugaki should be on a three-fight win streak if not for some bad judging at UFC 144, where he lost a decision to Chris Cariaso in his home country of Japan. The decision was so bad, in fact, that the UFC paid Mizugaki his win bonus from the show.
While he harbors no harsh feelings after the fact, Mizugaki learned a valuable lesson in that performance, and it’s given him a new killer instinct in fights.
“I think, because of that fight (vs. Cariaso), I am more matured as a fighter and I believe became a better fighter,” Mizugaki told Bleacher Report. “Ever since that fight, regardless of if the fight goes to decision or not, I started to believe that Kakutougi (combat sports) is about keep attacking and dominate the opponent.
“I don’t even think about engaging in so-called ‘point game’ such as avoiding the danger (to be defensive). I just want to show my best offense all the time.”
Now, as much as any fighter wants to finish every fight they have in the UFC, Mizugaki knows, realistically, that won’t always happen. The positive way he looks at it as he approaches his next fight at UFC on Fuel 8 is to leave everything he has in the cage, for all 15 minutes.
If that happens and the judges still don’t give him the nod, Mizugaki refuses to live with regret.
“To me, the most important thing about fight is to use all my ability. If I can give everything I got in the Octagon, then even if the fight went to decision, I won’t feel any regret,” said Mizugaki.
Throughout his career with Zuffa (between the UFC and WEC), Mizugaki has faced a who’s who list of competitors at 135 pounds. From top-10 fighters to championship contenders, Mizugaki has never backed down from a challenge and it won’t start in 2013, either.
But because of his record bouncing between wins and losses, Mizugaki knows that to get back to fights against competitors like Urijah Faber and Brian Bowles, he has to face and defeat opponents like up-and-comers such as Bryan Caraway this Saturday in Japan.
Caraway only moved to bantamweight recently and he’s looking to get a big win on his resume by beating Mizugaki. On the flip side, however, Mizugaki is looking at Caraway as his entry back to facing the best of the best at bantamweight.
“I consider this upcoming fight to be sort of like a qualifier to get a right to fight top fighters in this weight class,” said Mizugaki.
“I want to win this fight, and I want to win against top fighters and make 2013 a fantastic year for me.”
Mizugaki will have his chance when he faces Bryan Caraway during the UFC on Fuel 8 preliminary fights on Facebook airing Saturday night from Japan at 7 p.m. ET.
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
If I were to have told you before this event that a FUEL TV caliber card will have seven out of nine fights go the distance, it is doubtful that many of you would have watched UFC on FUEL 6. If I were to have reminded you that because the fights were live from Macau, China, you’d have to wake up at 9 a.m. ET to watch said card, I’m willing to bet we would have had a pretty vacant liveblog this morning. It isn’t often that a card with so many decisions is worth waking up early for, but UFC on FUEL 6 proved to be an exception.
Expectations weren’t exactly high for the evening’s main event, a middleweight contest between Rich Franklin and Cung Le. With neither fighter in the title picture – or even near it – and forty year old Cung Le bloodletting his foot just one week before the fight, this fight had a very high bust-potential. Most of us assumed that Ace would exit the cage with his first victory at middleweight since 2008, and that we wouldn’t be missing much if we started our afternoon nap a little early.
Instead, Cung Le gave us a Knockout of the Year candidate, countering a leg kick with a devastating right hand that secured the victory just 2:17 into the fight. Being the only knockout on the card, Le took home the $40k Knockout of the Night award, but even if every other fight ended in a knockout it’d be hard not to award such a brutal finish the honor. If you happened to miss it, here it is in all of its animated GIF glory:
If I were to have told you before this event that a FUEL TV caliber card will have seven out of nine fights go the distance, it is doubtful that many of you would have watched UFC on FUEL 6. If I were to have reminded you that because the fights were live from Macau, China, you’d have to wake up at 9 a.m. ET to watch said card, I’m willing to bet we would have had a pretty vacant liveblog this morning. It isn’t often that a card with so many decisions is worth waking up early for, but UFC on FUEL 6 proved to be an exception.
Expectations weren’t exactly high for the evening’s main event, a middleweight contest between Rich Franklin and Cung Le. With neither fighter in the title picture – or even near it – and forty year old Cung Le bloodletting his foot just one week before the fight, this fight had a very high bust-potential. Most of us assumed that Ace would exit the cage with his first victory at middleweight since 2008, and that we wouldn’t be missing much if we started our afternoon nap a little early.
Instead, Cung Le gave us a Knockout of the Year candidate, countering a leg kick with a devastating right hand that secured the victory just 2:17 into the fight. Being the only knockout on the card, Le took home the $40k Knockout of the Night award, but even if every other fight ended in a knockout it’d be hard not to award such a brutal finish the honor. If you happened to miss it, here it is in all of its animated GIF glory:
As for what this fight means for the UFC middleweight division, I’m still tempted to say ”not too much.” Franklin was certainly a good middleweight champion and a great company man for the UFC, but he hasn’t been a serious title contender in years. As great of a victory as it was for Le, I’d say he’s at least two more victories away from being “in the mix” for a title shot (whatever that even means these days). May I be so bold as to suggest a fight against Brian Stann?
As for Rich Franklin, retirement seems like the most logical option. I know it’s easy to be pessimistic about a fighter’s career after watching him lose – especially the way he lost – but we’re looking at a thirty-eight year old former-champion who hasn’t won back-to-back fights in four years. There’s nothing left for Ace to do except ride his company man status into a vaguely-defined post-retirement corporate career with the UFC.
The co-main event produced a very surprising finish, as Blackzilian Thiago Silva handed Stanislav Nedkov his first career loss with a third round arm-triangle choke. Silva not only picked up his first victory in three years (drug test pending), but also his first submission victory (not counting his submission via punches over Antonio Mendes at UFC 84) since heel-hooking Dave Dalgliesh back in 2006. Being the only submission on the card, the win earned Silva the Submission of the Night bonus.
Although Silva was ahead 20-18 on all three scorecards heading into the third round, Nedkov arguably took the first round and nearly finished the Brazilian late in the second round. Despite barely making it to the third round, Thiago Silva overwhelmed Nedkov with an aggressive striking display before earning the takedown. From there, the BJJ blackbelt wasted little time locking in the fight ending choke.
Silva has never been a pushover, but he’s also never been a serious contender for the light-heavyweight championship, either. At twenty-nine years old, he still has a chance at putting together a run for the title. But if he’s going to make the most of this opportunity, he needs to get back to consistently stringing together victories, and start earning them over the deep end of the UFC’s roster.
Elsewhere on the card:
– Takanori Gomi’s split-decision over Mac Danzig took home Fight of the Night honors. Little surprise here, as this fight was a back-and-forth affair that saw both men come close to earning the stoppage. The PRIDE legend improves to 34-8 (1 NC) overall, and 3-3 in the UFC. Meanwhile, Mac Danzig drops to 21-10-1 – including a not-quite-worthy 5-6 in the UFC – but earns his fourth End of the Night bonus from the promotion.
– Dong Hyun Kim took home a unanimous decision victory over Paulo Thiago in a fight that was never exactly close. After the fight, Kim asked for a rematch against Demian Maia. Considering the fluke nature of their first meeting, I’m not surprised that he wants this fight but I doubt he gets it. Also, Thiago is now 1-4 in his last five fights and 4-5 in the UFC, so expect a Paulo Thiago-themed “And Now he’s Fired” soon.
– Speaking of “1-4 in his last five and probably about to be fired,” Tiequan Zhang actually lost to TUF alumnus Jon Tuck. Yes, the only Chinese fighter on the entire card actually lost to the softball opponent he was matched up against. And not by an indefensibly terrible decision, either: Tuck was controlling the entire fight until the third round, when he made the foolish decision to stand with the guy who desperately needed a knockout. Not to throw salt in the wound here, but Zhang’s lone victory in his last five fights came over Jason Reinhardt at UFC 127. Ouch.
– Takeya Mizugaki wasn’t exactly given a world-beater in Jeff Hougland, but he still managed to look pretty impressive while taking home a unanimous decision victory. Mizugaki ground Hougland’s face into a pulp over the course of three rounds, taking all three rounds on all three scorecards. That being said…30-25?! YOU CANNOT BE FOR SERIOUSLY, BRO!
– Attendance was 8,415, who paid $1.3 million USD. This makes UFC on FUEL 6 the second highest FUEL livegate (Only UFC on FUEL 2 was higher).
The main card of UFC on Fuel in China kicked off in the bantamweight division, as Japan’s Takeya Mizugaki took on American Jeff Hougland. Mizugaki would earn a unanimous decision (30-25, 30-27, 30-27) in impressive fashion.Here’s what we learned f…
The main card of UFC on Fuel in China kicked off in the bantamweight division, as Japan’s TakeyaMizugaki took on American Jeff Hougland. Mizugaki would earn a unanimous decision (30-25, 30-27, 30-27) in impressive fashion.
Here’s what we learned from the bout.
What We’ll Remember About This Fight
Mizugaki‘s dominance in every aspect of the fight. He used great takedowns, takedown defense and ground-and-pound, which complimented his striking on the feet. We will remember a complete domination.
What We Learned About Jeff Hougland
Hougland is a tough dude for absorbing that much punishment, but he may not be UFC caliber. He has a good-looking submission game, but he was out-grappled by the underrated top game of Mizugaki. He needs to go back to the drawing board and work on his striking.
What We Learned About TakeyaMizugaki
Mizugaki is still a top bantamweight in the world. He has not really made his impact on the UFC yet, but after this fight, the 135-lb division should take notice. Mizugaki is well-rounded and a tough matchup for any opponent.
What’s Next for Hougland
I would assume that Hougland gets his walking papers after this fight, as he has dropped two straight. If he gets another shot, give him another recent loser in Vaughan Lee and have them fight for their spot on the roster.
What’s Next for Mizugaki
Raphael Assuncao is on the rise at 135 and will need a stiff test. Mizugaki provides that test and in exchange has his all-around game further tested.
For the biggest part of his UFC and WEC career, bantamweight fighter Takeya Mizugaki battled to find steady ground after gaining a reputation for being one of the toughest fighters in the division.
