Uriah Faber’s bantamweight debut went off without a hitch on Thursday, as the former WEC featherweight champion choked out Takeya Mizugaki in the opening round of the WEC 52 main event in Las Vegas.
Faber outpointed Mizugaki as they traded on their feet early, then took his back in the final minute before locking on a rear naked choke that put Mizugaki to sleep with 10-seconds left in the Versus-televised headliner.
Now 24-4, Faber is in line for a shot at the 135-pound title currently held by Dominick Cruz, while Mizugaki falls to 13-5-2.
In the WEC 52 co-headliner, Faber’s teammate Chad Mendes controlled fellow featherweight Javier Vazquez to remain unbeaten with a unanimous decision win, while Erik Koch, Joseph Benavidez, and Demetrious Johnson also earned wins on the night’s main card.
The complete WEC 52 results were:
MAIN CARD
- Urijah Faber def. Takeya Mizugaki via submission (rear naked choke) – Round 1, 4:50
- Chad Mendes def. Javier Vazquez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Erik Koch def. Francisco Rivera via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:36
- Joseph Benavidez def. Wagnney Fabiano via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 2:45
- Demetrious Johnson def. Damacio Page via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 3, 2:27
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Raphael Assuncao def. L.C. Davis via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Anthony Njokuani def. Edward Faaloloto via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:54
- Dustin Poirier def. Zack Micklewright via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:53
- Michael McDonald def. Clint Godfrey via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 2:42
- Cub Swanson def. Mackens Semerzier via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Yves Jabouin def. Brandon Visher via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
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seriously thought rosenthal let mizugaki die.
i thought the same thing. was kinda worried for a min…
In all fairness to Rosenthal there is always the danger of that happening when you’re A) against the cage B) facing the cage as well C) on your belly and D) you don’t tap. Rosenthal kept changing positions to try and see if he was out and even reached in a few times to test mizugaki’s hands. I was a littled worried myself on the live coverage but Rosenthal did what he could and to Faber’s credit he slowly brought mizugaki back over after the finish and waited to see if he was ok before celebrating. Much like the Leben-Rosholt fight it was a hard call for the ref that looked scary but luckily came out ok.
Impressive win for Faber. You know Dana White and Co. are thrilled. With Jose Aldo being the sole face of the UFC’s new featherweight division, the bantamweight division also needed a marketable guy. No offense to Domick Cruz, but you know the UFC is going to ride the Urijah Faber train all the way to the bank.
Totally agree with you.
Faber looked great and pretty solid. I don’t know what happ to Mizugaki. He has lot of hearts in general but last night he was not himself.
I understand the situation, and I’m glad it worked itself out safely, but I’m glad to read that I wasn’t the only viewer [at the time] to think that Faber had left Mizugaki in a chalk outline drawn by Josh Rosenthal…
I wonder how long it will be before we get to see Uriah vs. Migel Torres
Faber may be going straight to Cruz. Torres may get a rematch with Benavidez.
Exactly what I was thinking.
If/when Faber scores the title, and Torres beats Benavidez, it’ll set up a 135 title “super-fight” that some of us have been looking forward to for a couple of years now…
I wanna be fair to the JR
-hindsight being 20-20,
the crazy stubborness in tapping,
the difficult sight lines…
seriously, could anyone tell it was over??
Is there a replay camera angle that shows better what was happening.