Tag: WEC+52

Urijah Faber Torn Over Bantamweight Title Prospects

LAS VEGAS – It was inevitable that just one fight into his MMA bantamweight career, the questions about a title shot for Urijah Faber would come.

Faber, the most dominant featherweight champion in WEC history and the promotion’s poster boy the last f…

LAS VEGAS – It was inevitable that just one fight into his MMA bantamweight career, the questions about a title shot for Urijah Faber would come.

Faber, the most dominant featherweight champion in WEC history and the promotion’s poster boy the last four years, made his debut at 135 pounds Thursday at WEC 52. And while some, including opponent Takeya Mizugaki, questioned whether the weight cut would be too much for him the first time out, Faber quickly silenced any naysayers with a devastating first-round rear naked choke victory.

Given that nine of Faber’s 12 fights in the WEC have been in title fights, and that as both champion and challenger he’s a proven draw, the win over Mizugaki may have fast-tracked him toward a bantamweight title shot.

Urijah Faber Leads WEC 52 Post-Fight Bonus Awards

LAS VEGAS – Headliner Urijah Faber, Erik Koch, Cub Swanson and Mackens Semerzier each took home $10,000 post-fight bonus awards for their performances at WEC 52 on Thursday night.

Faber, a heavy favorite in his first fight at bantamweight after dropp…

LAS VEGAS – Headliner Urijah Faber, Erik Koch, Cub Swanson and Mackens Semerzier each took home $10,000 post-fight bonus awards for their performances at WEC 52 on Thursday night.

Faber, a heavy favorite in his first fight at bantamweight after dropping down from featherweight, won the promotion’s Submission of the Night bonus for his first-round rear naked choke win over Takeya Mizugaki. Because of the angle, it was hard for referee Josh Rosenthal to check Mizugaki’s hand to see if he was out and he ultimately had to roll both fighters over to wave off the bout.

WEC 52 Undercard Live Blog: Davis vs. Assuncao, Semerzier vs. Swanson, More

Filed under: WECLAS VEGAS – MMA Fighting is at The Pearl at The Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas for WEC 52, one of just two cards left in the promotion’s history before merging into the UFC in 2011.

The main card, headlined by the bantamweight debut…

Filed under:

LAS VEGAS – MMA Fighting is at The Pearl at The Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas for WEC 52, one of just two cards left in the promotion’s history before merging into the UFC in 2011.

The main card, headlined by the bantamweight debut of former featherweight champion Urijah Faber against Takeya Mizugaki, airs live on Versus at 9 p.m. Eastern.

The preliminary bouts not scheduled for broadcast feature L.C. Davis vs. Raphael Assuncao, Edward Faaloloto vs. Anthony Njokuani, Dustin Poirier vs. Zach Micklewright, Michael McDonald vs. Clint Godfrey, Mackens Semerzier vs. Cub Swanson and Brandon Visher vs. Yves Jabouin.

MMA Fighting has round-by-round updates of the six preliminary card bouts below.

WEC 52 Weigh-in Results

Filed under: WEC, NewsLAS VEGAS – All main-card fighters made weight for their bouts at WEC 52 on Wednesday in Las Vegas, including main-event fighters Urijah Faber and Takeya Mizugaki.

Faber, the WEC’s former featherweight champion, is making his de…

Filed under: ,

LAS VEGAS – All main-card fighters made weight for their bouts at WEC 52 on Wednesday in Las Vegas, including main-event fighters Urijah Faber and Takeya Mizugaki.

Faber, the WEC’s former featherweight champion, is making his debut at bantamweight. He acknowledged after tipping the scales at 136 pounds that his first cut to 135 wasn’t easy.

“I’m ready. I can’t wait,” Faber told Craig Hummer. “It’s been a fun cut. It’s been a little difficult at the end, but I feel great. I’ve got a great opponent in Mizugaki – he comes forward and can take a beating. He can give a beating too, but I’m not going to let him.”

Mizugaki, whose WEC debut in April 2009 was a bantamweight title bout against then-champion Miguel Torres, also weighed 136.

Official weigh-in results after the jump.

Takeya Mizugaki: Bout Against Urijah Faber as Big as a Title Fight

Filed under: UFC, WECLAS 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…

Filed under: ,

Takeya MizugakiLAS 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.”

Jose Aldo vs. Josh Grispi Likely for UFC 125

Filed under: UFC, NewsWEC featherweight champion Jose Aldo will likely defend his title at UFC 125 on Jan. 1 against Josh Grispi – the first title defense of a WEC champ under the UFC banner.

Versus.com was first to report news of the Aldo-Grispi bout…

Filed under: ,

Jose AldoWEC featherweight champion Jose Aldo will likely defend his title at UFC 125 on Jan. 1 against Josh Grispi – the first title defense of a WEC champ under the UFC banner.

Versus.com was first to report news of the Aldo-Grispi bout, and sources with knowledge of the proposed matchup told MMA Fighting that was the planned direction for Aldo’s next defense. The fight would be the co-main event of the New Year’s Day card behind a lightweight title fight between UFC champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard.