Takeya Mizugaki was born on December 16,1983 and is a retired Japanese mixed martial artist who most notably competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
40 Facts About Takeya Mizugaki
1.
2.
Takeya Mizugaki began his mixed martial arts career and competed in respected Japanese promotions Shooto and Cage Force.
3.
Takeya Mizugaki was the Shooto Rookie of the Year in 2005 and winner of the Cage Force Bantamweight Tournament.
4.
Takeya Mizugaki made his World Extreme Cagefighting debut on April 5,2009, against Miguel Torres for the WEC Bantamweight Championship in which he lost by unanimous decision in the fifth round; he can lay claim as the first to push Torres all five rounds.
5.
Takeya Mizugaki fought Jeff Curran on August 9,2009, at WEC 42, he won by decision.
6.
Takeya Mizugaki was expected to face Damacio Page on December 19,2009, at WEC 45, but Page was forced off the card due to an injury.
7.
Takeya Mizugaki instead faced Scott Jorgensen and lost the fight via unanimous decision.
8.
Takeya Mizugaki faced Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Rani Yahya on April 24,2010, at WEC 48.
9.
Takeya Mizugaki won the fight via unanimous decision.
10.
Takeya Mizugaki was set to face former WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber, who was to be making his bantamweight debut, on August 18,2010, at WEC 50.
11.
Takeya Mizugaki was defeated by Faber via first round submission November 11,2010, at WEC 52.
12.
Takeya Mizugaki showed good take down defense but was hurt via punches toward the end of the first round, allowing Faber to take his back.
13.
Takeya Mizugaki was expected to face Francisco Rivera on March 3,2011, at UFC Live: Sanchez vs Kampmann.
14.
Takeya Mizugaki faced Brian Bowles on July 2,2011, at UFC 132.
15.
Takeya Mizugaki faced Cole Escovedo on September 24,2011, at UFC 135.
16.
Takeya Mizugaki utilized his crisp boxing to defeat Escovedo at 4:30 of the 2nd round via TKO.
17.
Takeya Mizugaki faced Chris Cariaso on February 26,2012, at UFC 144.
18.
Takeya Mizugaki was expected to face Jeff Hougland on September 1,2012, at UFC 151.
19.
Takeya Mizugaki faced Bryan Caraway on March 3,2013, at UFC on Fuel TV 8.
20.
Takeya Mizugaki won the fight via split decision, with two of the judges giving him the first and third rounds where he outstruck Caraway.
21.
Takeya Mizugaki faced Erik Perez on August 28,2013, at UFC Fight Night 27.
22.
Takeya Mizugaki fought Nam Phan on December 7,2013, at UFC Fight Night 33.
23.
Takeya Mizugaki faced Dominick Cruz on September 27,2014, at UFC 178.
24.
Takeya Mizugaki lost the fight via TKO in the first round after Cruz got a take-down and landed several punches against the cage.
25.
Takeya Mizugaki faced Aljamain Sterling on April 18,2015, at UFC on Fox 15, replacing an injured Manvel Gamburyan.
26.
Takeya Mizugaki lost the fight via submission in the third round.
27.
Takeya Mizugaki faced George Roop on September 27,2015, at UFC Fight Night 75.
28.
Takeya Mizugaki next faced Cody Garbrandt on August 20,2016, at UFC 202.
29.
Takeya Mizugaki lost the fight via TKO in the opening minute of the first round.
30.
Takeya Mizugaki faced Eddie Wineland on December 17,2016, at UFC on Fox 22.
31.
Takeya Mizugaki lost the fight via TKO in the first round and was released from the promotion.
32.
Takeya Mizugaki made his debut in the ACB against Russia's Rustam Kerimov on September 30,2017, at ACB 71.
33.
Takeya Mizugaki lost the fight via TKO at 3:19 of the first round.
34.
Takeya Mizugaki was expected to face Guangyou Ning at Rebel FC 9 on September 7,2018, but the event was eventually cancelled.
35.
Takeya Mizugaki faced Shoji Maruyama at DEEP 89 Impact on May 12,2019, winning the fight via unanimous decision.
36.
Takeya Mizugaki then signed with Rizin and made his promotional debut against Manel Kape at Rizin 18 on August 18,2019.
37.
Takeya Mizugaki lost the fight via technical knockout in the second round.
38.
Takeya Mizugaki retired from mixed martial arts after the fight, but announced the retirement not until early June 2020.
39.
Takeya Mizugaki holds a master's degree in electrical engineering from Kanto Gakuin University.
40.
In 2021, Takeya Mizugaki opened his gym, the Belva Fight and Fitness.