WEC 40 Analysis: Mizugaki Impressive in Defeat

by Leland Roling on Apr 6, 2009 11:59 AM EDT Comment 24 comments

Promoted to the front page from the FanPosts by Luke Thomas.

Takeya Mizugaki wasn't given much hope by many fight fans when he was announced as a replacement for Brian Bowles for the WEC 40 main event against Miguel Torres. For the most part, a lot of fans felt Bowles' power and tenacity in the striking department could give Torres a run for his money while Mizugaki's reputation as an unknown on U.S. soil caused him to be written off. Those of us following the Japanese bantamweights over the years have seen Mizugaki's potential, but Sunday evening's performance went above and beyond what I expected from Mizugaki. He truly made Torres seem just a little bit more human than once thought.

Mizugaki was already considered to be a top 10 ranked bantamweight before this bout took place, but his lacking jiu-jitsu coupled with the belief that Torres would be the much more technical striker led many to believe this was a lopsided event. While I understood these knocks on Mizugaki's skill set, I was focusing on his standup defense, a skill that could inevitably make or break your fight.

One of the problems that's noticeable in Mizugaki's defense is his forgetfulness in keeping his hands up and his chin down in the standup game. In fact, he's been susceptible to being caught due to this problem in a good number of his fights. The countering attribute is that he has phenomenal cardio and quick recovery abilities, and for the most part, this has allowed him to make mistakes and win fights.

Sunday evening's performance was one of the best I've seen from Mizugaki in his career. Not only was his standup defense much improved, but his chin was kept low and his hands reflexed back to "home" after throwing flurries to anticipate the counter. Torres' striking was definitely more technical, and he landed some solid blows to Mizugaki's face on multiple occassions, but his cardio and toughness can deal with the blows when he isn't exposing his chin to the world. Mizugaki's overall defense was vastly improved from previous bouts.

Mizugaki's performance is a sure sign that his potential is beginning to reveal itself. He showed toughness, a solid chin, phenomenal cardio to keep up with a freak of an athlete in Miguel Torres, and a tenacity that pushed this fight to the absolute maximum in endurance. Fans didn't even get to see the powerful top control game that Mizugaki possesses. Be ready for Takeya to begin making some waves if he continues to battle it out in the WEC. He can only improve with more performances in the cage, and he may be able to eventually be a guy who could topple Miguel Torres.

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.

4 recs | Comment 24 comments | Share

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

He looked very good. During some of their exchanges, I thought he was going to catch Torres and put him down.

by GroundNPound561 on Apr 6, 2009 11:41 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

That was the most impressive thing I got from Torres in this fight. He’d get caught in the fence with Mizugaki going for the kill, and his standup defense and “bob & weave” were amazing. He was avoiding the huge blows so well.

Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com

by Leland Roling on Apr 6, 2009 12:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Mizugaki is a bantamweight, not a featherweight.

by Luke Thomas on Apr 6, 2009 11:44 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I need to be slapped…

Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com

by Leland Roling on Apr 6, 2009 11:58 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Researching a few bantamweights

Before writing an article does that to ya…

Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com

by Leland Roling on Apr 6, 2009 11:58 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

In a previous post I linked an article from Sherdog about Mizugaki. In it he explains that the striking in Japan is closer, meaning there isn’t much use of reach. He also found that most Japanese fighters were being knocked out by long range looping shots. Since signing with the WEC he was said to have really dedicated himself to adapting that style. My only worry with Mizugaki is his poor submission defense. In a division so rich in BJJ talent, you worry how long before he runs into a fighter who is going to be able to utilize his BJJ and cage presence to give Mizugaki fits. If he can continue to adapt his striking to a more western approach, as well as improve his submission defense, he’s got a shot as good as any to unseat Torres in a rematch.

by Gogo Platter on Apr 6, 2009 12:02 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, I read that article. It’s encouraging to see that he recognizes that, and it may be the reason why a lot of those guys keep their hands down to an extent. Aikyo Nishiura comes to mind.

Mizugaki isn’t exactly a slouch on the floor. He doesn’t have a BJJ pedigree, but his overall strength has allowed him to keep submission attempts at bay. I think you’re right though. He’s definitely susceptible to a submisson over actually being knocked out in my eyes if his standup defense continues to improve.

Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com

by Leland Roling on Apr 6, 2009 12:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

good piece Leland!

"the spirit of your average dumbass with more overblown rhetoric" OR "the self-appointed savior of MMA"

by Kid Nate on Apr 6, 2009 12:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Nice article.

It was an incredible performance by Mizugaki and he showed an amazing amount of improvement between fights. He didn’t look half that good in his fight with Oishi and that was in December for god’s sake.

I’m very bullish about his prospects and I really hope he gets a number of fans over that performance.

"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito on Belfort at Affliction:DOR

by Rundownloser on Apr 6, 2009 12:09 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The only thing I was a bit disappointed in was seeing how well his sprawl was going to handle Torres’ takedown attempts. I really expected Torres to stand though.

Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com

by Leland Roling on Apr 6, 2009 12:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It was heartbreaking to see him cry after the fight when it really could have gone either way. He deserves ideally another shot at Torres and at the very least a few more fights in the WEC.

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett

by themachiavellian on Apr 6, 2009 1:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

With Bowles next in line for a shot at Torres

I think a Benavidez-Mizugaki has to happen. There is no way that Mizugaki should fall in the ranks after that performance. An immediate rematch could almost be justified, if Mizugaki had not been a late replacement.

I was lucky enough to attend the event, and was absolutely blown away by Mizugaki. Everyone around me was fully expecting Torres to walk thru this fight, and was in complete shock after round 1, and even more worried after the third round. It was a great fight, and it’s nice to know that the WEC was able to sign another 135 pound star.

¿Quieres chiclets?

by The Mexican't on Apr 6, 2009 3:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Reced the one awsome article.

by JaTinkles on Apr 6, 2009 3:09 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I don’t know about impressive. I mean I’m just not sure that is the right word. This write up is impressive and rec’d, but Mizugaki showed zero ground game.

Now, i don’t blame him for staying off the ground with Torres, in fact that decision alone may be impressive. He managed to stay on his feet and that was pretty good. He took a lot of shots from Torres and showed he has a chin, though I would prefer him to avoid some of those blows. His striking was certainly good and his heart can not be questioned whatsoever.

So, I would say he was exciting, fun, had me pulling for him, but was clearly not the fighter that Torres is. And I am not a huge fan of Torres.

I definitely look forward to seeing him fight again, hopefully against someone a little less dangerous on the ground, so we can see a more complete game from him.

Whether of not you deem his performance “impressive”, he certainly gained some fans last night, including me.

If you're not submitting, you're just rolling around with another guy.

by BJJDenver on Apr 6, 2009 3:14 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

He showed common sense in doing everything in his power to stay away from Torres’ ground game.

Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken

by Richard Wade on Apr 6, 2009 3:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, that is why i said I didn’t blame him and the decision alone may be impressive.

I’m sure he has some ground skills, but Torres is pretty slick. This fight was awesome, btw.

If you're not submitting, you're just rolling around with another guy.

by BJJDenver on Apr 6, 2009 3:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, I’m really touting the hard work he’s done to improve his overall abilities that were showcased on Sunday night. Noticeably, his standup defense was vastly improved. I watched a lot of footage on him when this fight was announced, and I literally told a friend to bet the house on Torres is the line is close because of Mizugaoki’s failure to keep his hands up and have his chin pretty high in the air.

Once the battle started last night, it was obvious he had learned. Every fighter should be learning, but as we’ve seen time and time again, a lot of guys don’t learn, they try to be exciting and forget about winning and learning from their mistakes. Mizugaki improved.

Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com

by Leland Roling on Apr 6, 2009 3:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

And as great as Torres is, I think Miz certainly showed that he isn’t invincible.

If you're not submitting, you're just rolling around with another guy.

by BJJDenver on Apr 6, 2009 4:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Exactly, and that was one of the things that came out of that fight. I really thought Torres was an easy pick, and Mizugaki had me on my seat a few times. He really brought it and showed the type of gameplan that can beat Torres. Obviously, he came up short, and it did show us that you’re going to have to be one helluva a fighter to beat him.

Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com

by Leland Roling on Apr 6, 2009 5:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

His peek a boo(ish) offence and takedown defence were fantastic, but he lost the fight in the clinch. At distance Torres had the advantage, however he closed the distance impressively and cut off the cage. If he was more active in the clinch, even to the point of only gaining parity, he had a good shot at winning the fight. If he improved in the clinch he could win a rematch. I was impressed with everything he showcased appart from his clinch work.

by nidge on Apr 6, 2009 3:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Very nice article. That was an amazing fight last night.

by Dropkick434 on Apr 6, 2009 3:37 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I was impressed with Mizugaki. But I don’t see how he could beat Torres in a rematch. What could Mizugaki have done better? Perhaps his cardio for 5 rounds could be improved but I don’t think he was ever that close to stopping Torres.

Torres can pretty much beat any fighter at his own game but it would have been easier for him if he could have forced the action to the ground. I kind of like that he wants to challenge himself but leaving it in the judges hands is always dangerous. It’d be interesting to see what he could do with 20 pounds of muscle and a few years of training in wrestling. Torres/Penn at 155 could be a heck of a fight in a few years. Torres also didn’t use his reach advantage as much as he could have and probably could have used more frequent kicks since he was under no threat of a takedown.

by undrafted on Apr 6, 2009 9:05 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

A couple of those big flurries landing could have made a huge impact.

Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com

by Leland Roling on Apr 6, 2009 11:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It was heartbreaking to see him cry after the fight when it really could have gone either way.

It was a great fight and Mizugaki deserves all respect for his performance but the fight wasn’t that close, I had it 4 rounds to 1 and I barely gave that one to Miz. Torres showed he is so versetily that it’s incredible Miz wanted no part of his ground game and the way he used the knees and elbows in the clinch showed just another aspect of why he’s one of the bets p4p fighters in the world today.

by Raker on Apr 6, 2009 9:42 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs