MIZUGAKI GUNNING FOR CURRAN AND TITLE SHOT
It's a rare occasion when a fighter can step in on short notice, face one of the top pound-for-pound athletes on the planet, take the champion for the full five rounds, drop a decision, but become more popular and make a rise in the rankings. That's exactly what happened to Japanese fighter Takeya Mizugaki following a fight of the year candidate against Miguel Torres back in April, but now he's looking to build back up to the No. 1 contender's spot when he faces Jeff Curran on Aug. 9.
While the fan fare and rankings are nice, Mizugaki is quick to point out that it doesn't mean much without following up in his next fight, and that's what he's planning to do.
"At first I felt funny that I went up in a ranking by losing the fight, but I guess I did fight a very strong world champion," Mizugaki said in an interview with MMAWeekly.com. "In the last fight I was very cautious about his ground skill, so I didn't even bother going to the ground with him, but if I get to be in a good position on the ground then I would like to (be) aggressive and attack on the ground as well.
"Just like the last fight, I think I am facing an extremely tough opponent, but if I can win the fight against a very tough fighter, especially in a convincing manner, I believe that would put me step closer to another title challenge."
One of the biggest differences heading into this fight for Mizugaki is the fact that he will have a full training camp, unlike the last fight that he took on just a month's notice to fight a five-round championship bout.
"I am confident that I have prepared myself better than last time," Mizugaki stated.
"I did everything that needs to be done. I am in really condition too so please expect a good fight."
Going from Miguel Torres to Jeff Curran, Mizugaki knows he's not taking a step down in competition, and it's that challenge that pushes him further, and just another hurdle he must overcome to get back to the title.
"Of course I am very cautious of his BJJ skill. But mostly I am most concerned of his experience," said Mizugaki. "He has fought a lot and many of them are against top fighters. Curran has also got good punches too, but I believe I have an advantage in the standing department."
Working with a strong camp of championship-level fighters brought Mizugaki along for this fight, and he believes it's everything he needs to win the bout against Curran.
"I didn't particularly get special sparring partners to prepare for Curran or anything like that, but I did spar a lot with Shooto champ Shinichi ‘BJ’ Kojima, Shuichirou Katsumura, and Tomohiko Hori, who will be challenging Masakazu Imanari's DEEP title next month," he commented.
The last time Mizugaki fought it was a very partial Chicago crowd cheering for their hometown hero, Miguel Torres, but this time around, based on his last performance, he's hoping to bring the Las Vegas crowd to his side of the fight.
"Last time I was looking forward to hear big booing in Chicago and this time, I would like to see how the fans would react to me," he said.
The growth of the WEC's bantamweight division cannot be denied and Mizugaki is proud to be a part of it, and looks forward to moving along with them in the future as well.
"In the world arena there isn't much promotions that would emphasize on lighter weight classes. Especially in terms of 135 pounds and under division, it's almost none out there," Mizugaki said.
"Therefore, (the) WEC has become the prime goal for everyone at my weight class and for fighters it’s necessary to have the goal. In that sense I really would like to see WEC becoming big and if I can be a part of it, to be little of a help in achieving that, it would be honorable for me."
Heading into this fight, as always, Mizugaki also paid tribute to those who helped him reach his goals in the WEC.
"My weapon is striking and Chairman Watanabe of Shooting Gym Hakkei has been my trainer in that department, so I can't thank him enough. And also Mr. Murayama, who taught me MMA from the very basics, and I also really appreciate people at Kiguchi Dojo and also Shuichirou Katsumura for providing support and a place to train. And of course I like to thank my two cornermen, Shinichi ‘BJ’ Kojima and Ken Yasuda, who are coming all the way to Vegas with me," he said.
"Finally I would like to thank my sponsors, Sprawl for providing everything I need to become a top MMA fighter, American Spartan, Touché Salon, and KUBED for a continuing support. And I am thrilled to be able to work with Fighter Warehouse and Manto. Thank you so much to everyone."
Takeya Mizugaki returns to action on Aug. 9 to face Jeff Curran at WEC 42, live on Versus in the U.S.
