WEC 52 – Urijah Faber Vs. Takeya Mizugaki
Stephan Bonnar is with Todd Harris tonight for the second to last ever WEC card. They talk a little about the adjoining of the two brands. I’d expect the next show to be a bit more of a goodbye show.
Urijah Faber could use a nice win heading into UFC. He’s so marketable, but needs to win this fight. I’d love to see he and Miguel Torres face off and maybe even do a The Ultimate Fighter season as coaches.
1. Demetrious Johnson vs. Damacio Page
If you scored by takedowns, Page would win three to one. And if you scored by velocity of takedowns, Page would be winning handily too. He slammed Johnson down hard. On the last one, I thought Johnson may have injured his back, but he was ok. Page also got the mount after the first takedown.
Johnson shinned him right in the package. Even with the package shot, the round was all Johnson. He got two big takedowns and stayed on top of him most of the round. He was pretty active on top too. I have it tied at the end of two rounds.
The round started much like the second with Johnson all over Page. He started to set Page up for a submission and had a front face lock until he was able to get Page to sit back and held the guillotine from the top position. Page tapped.
Winner: Demetrious Johnson by way of third round submission
2. Wagnney Fabiano vs. Joseph Benavidez
Benavidez pushed the pace and set the tone. It was almost comical watching the much shorter Benavidez walk down Fabiano. Fabiano landed a couple of body kicks that landed well, but Benavidez threw many more strikes and was in control.
Benavidez took advantage of a slip by Fabiano and started to leg kick him. He sunk in two different guillotines that looked tight, but Fabiano was able to get out both of them. Bonnar thought the fight was over twice. And then, all of a sudden, he sunk in another, this time without the arm in and Fabiano tapped out. That was excellent stuff by Benavidez.
Winner: Joseph Benavidez by way of 2nd round submission
3. Francisco Rivera vs. Erik Koch
This is Rivera’s first fight in the WEC and I guess technically, his last.
Koch threw a nasty high kick that hit him right on the jaw. Rivera didn’t immediately go out, but he was definitely out of it. Koch finished him on the ground with hammer punches.
Winner: Erik Koch by way of 1st round TKO
4. Mackens Semerzier vs. Cub Swanson
This was an entertaining first round. They both threw a ton of kicks and straight right hands. Good head movement from Swanson too. It was pretty close to a stalemate. Semerzier had a standing guillotine in for a short time, but it wasn’t that deep.
Swanson started to get the better of Semerzier because he was able to mix in a couple takedowns and started to gain the advantage in the stand-up. Without the takedowns, it’d be a harder round to call, but it’s Swanson’s round.
I think Swanson is going to get this decision because of his ability to get Semerzier down with takedowns. The stand-up is close to call. Swanson had some of the better boxing you’ll see in MMA, though he would fall in love with it and drop his hands low. But offensively, he was pretty smooth. Semerzier got Swanson down and tried to get his back unsuccessfully, but was able to get on top of him and stay busy. Maybe Semerzier will steal this decision. With about 10 seconds left, they were both on their feet and just swinging for the fences. It’s on the list of best fights of the year for sure.
Winner: Cub Swanson by way of split decision
You can’t go wrong with that decision. I would’ve been fine with either guy winning.
5. Javier Vasquez vs. Chad Mendes
Mendes smothered him from top position the entire round. Vasquez used his rubber guard to stop Mendes’ advancement. But that’s the way the entire round went.
Mendes immediately went to the takedown again. Vasquez fought very well off his back, throwing elbows from the bottom. Vasquez got Mendes off him and Mendes did a front flip to try to get back on top and they rolled around until Mendes was back on top.
Thankfully, they showed the Cub Swanson fight because this fight isn’t doing much for me. Mendes got the takedown again and again, but Herb is standing them up pretty quickly now. I can’t see Mendes losing this type of fight.
Winner: Chad Mendes by way of unanimous decision
All the scores were 30-27.
6. Takeya Mizugaki vs. Urijah Faber
For most of the first round, they were clinched up against the cage with neither guy having an edge. Then, Faber tried to lock in a front face lock and then immediately went to his back. He got on top of his back and Mizugaki was carrying him. Faber tried a choke with one arm and then switched arms. Mizugaki tried to drop Faber on top of his head but instead, he just ended up giving up his back on the ground. Faber sunk in a choke and Mizugaki wouldn’t tap. They were close to the cage so the ref couldn’t see if Mizugaki was out or not. The choke was probably on several seconds too late, not at the fault of anyone though.
Winner: Urijah Faber by way of 1st round submission
I’m interested to see how Urijah’s first UFC fight is booked.
