Mizugaki continues to push his limits

Dec 14, 2009 | by MattE | No Comments

By Matt Erickson
cagedin.mma@gmail.com

The air horn sounded and Takeya Mizugaki made his way back to his corner – battered, bruised, tired and, ultimately, not victorious.

Fighters and mixed martial arts insiders love to drop cliches like “going to war,” but this was legit. Mizugaki had given Miguel Torres all he could handle and then some on a snowy Chicago night in April — becoming the first fighter to go five rounds with the Hammond-based bantamweight in a career spanning 50 fights if you count the unsanctioned Region bar circuit. But he came up on the short end of a unanimous decision loss.

After Torres’ hand was raised at WEC 40 in front of his hometown Chicago fans, Mizugaki left the arena floor with plenty of emotion welling up. With his cornermen flanking him, Mizugaki cried.

“It was emotional for me because I gave everything I had in that fight,” Mizugaki told The Times through his translator, Shu Hirata. “I learned that inside the cage, I can push myself beyond limits I thought I had. I learned what it’s like to fight for a championship and I learned what it’s like to come so close to my dream.”

Inside the cage, close doesn’t count for much – even when you’re fighting an uphill battle all the way to fight night. Mizugaki took the fight on short notice when Torres’ original opponent, Brian Bowles, pulled out with a back injury five weeks before the fight. Even more overwhelming, Mizugaki had never fought outside his native Japan. And then he had to walk in against an opponent fighting only 20 miles from his house. To say Mizugaki was a sizable underdog – and clearly not the fan favorite – would be a major understatement.

Mizugaki said the adjustment to fighting more than 6,000 miles from his home in Japan made a difference, but making excuses is not in his nature.

“(The adjustment to fighting in the U.S.) affected me a little bit, but I was ready for the fight with Torres,” Mizugaki said. “It was a great fight for five hard rounds. It was big because it was in his home town. I came to America to fight a champion in his home town. That’s never easy. I would like to fight him again someday. But first, I have to focus on Scott Jorgensen.”

Indeed, Mizugaki’s next test, against Jorgensen at WEC 45 on Saturday in Las Vegas, might be his most important fight yet in the WEC. He rebounded from the loss to Torres with another close fight, a split decision win over Torres rival Jeff Curran, from north suburban Island Lake, Ill. And ironically, that win came just about an hour before Torres suffered his first defeat in nearly six years, losing his WEC bantamweight title to Bowles at WEC 42 in August – almost as if destiny had put them on the same card, hoping their paths would cross.

Jorgensen presents another tough test on the ground for Mizugaki, renowned for his standup and striking skills. Torres and Curran are both black belts in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Jorgensen brings a strong wrestling background to the table, which made Mizugaki continue to hone his ground game. But he knows that old fight cliche could boil its way to the forefront again.

“With Scott, I am just preparing myself for a war,” Mizugaki said. “He is a fast, aggressive fighter. I am a fast, aggressive fighter. Put us together and it should be a really exciting fight.”

For the bout with Curran, Mizugaki worked to improve his ground game, which he surprisingly didn’t need against Torres, who wanted to stand and trade that fight. And Mizugaki made Torres a believer in his hands, not to mention his tenacity and heart. He believes he made strides since then, though he still wants to be better once the fight leaves the feet.

“I knew Curran was talented in jiu-jitsu, and I was able to see that my skills on the ground are good, but can get better,” Mizugaki said. “I am constantly looking to improve, and the fight with Curran made me want to keep working hard on my grappling. It was a close fight and a fight that I think has helped me become a better fighter.”

Leaving Las Vegas with his first victory in the WEC was certainly his biggest goal going into the Curran fight, but Mizugaki also wanted to make a statement. And while he’s not quite at Urijah Faber levels of love from the fans, they have taken to him.

“I have noticed that the fans enjoy watching me fight,” Mizugaki said. “I came to the WEC against Torres and I didn’t expect the fans to embrace me. But now that that is over, it seems like they respect me as a fighter.”

Perhaps most impressive about Mizugaki is his diligence in battling adversity and finding ways to take something from each new situation to keep climbing the ladder as a fighter. Against Jorgensen, the well-schooled striker with a master’s degree – who turns 26 on Wednesday – said he’ll bring lessons from both his previous WEC fights.

“I am confident that I will be ready for Jorgensen,” Mizugaki said. “My fight with Torres showed me what it’s like to be in a war and my fight with Curran showed me how to handle an opponent with a set gameplan. I think the key for me is to be able to adapt and beat Jorgensen in all aspects of the fight.”

Before their respective fights at WEC 42 in August at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Mizugaki walked out of a bathroom stall just as Torres was walking in. The two saw each other, but there was no real eye contact, no nodding of heads as they passed. It was less a scene of two men with animosity for one another as it was two fighters who know that though they have fought once before, their war is far from over and that they’ll meet again. Torres has said if the rematch happens, they’re starting with Round 6.

Nearly eight months later, Mizugaki is still using the Torres loss as motivation to reach his ultimate goal.

“It definitely motivates me now,” Mizugaki said. “I still think I can beat Torres and I still think I can be a world champion. I’m hungry to do both soon.”

———————–

WEC 45: Cerrone vs. Ratcliff
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
Where: The Pearl at The Palms, Las Vegas
TV: Versus (cable)

Main Card
155: Donald Cerrone vs. Ed Ratcliff
155: Anthony Njokuani vs. Chris Horodecki
135: Joseph Benavidez vs. Rani Yahya
135: Takeya Mizugaki vs. Scott Jorgensen

Preliminary Card
155: Bart Palaszewski vs. Anthony Pettis
155: Muhsin Corbbrey vs. Zach Micklewright
135: John Hosman vs. Chad George
135: Brad Pickett vs. Kyle Dietz
145: Jameel Massouh vs. Erik Koch

» Posted in: Uncategorized
» Tagged: Local MMA, WEC

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