A bantamweight battle between former WEC champion Brian Bowles and Japanese standout Takeya Mizugaki is currently targeted for UFC 132 on July 2nd in Las Vegas. The UFC announced plans for the fight today, and verbal agreements are in place. Bout agreements have not been signed.
Bowles is coming off of his second victory over Damacio Page at UFC On Versus 3 last month. Ring rust did not appear to be a factor for Bowles, as he made his first appearance since losing his WEC title one year earlier. Mizugaki most recently defeated Reuben Duran on the same March card.
Bowles (9-1-0) has yet to go to a decision in his professional career. The well-rounded native of Athens, Georgia captured the WEC Bantamweight Championship with a crushing knockout of Miguel Torres in August of 2009, but lost the title via doctor stoppage after breaking his hand in a title bout with Dominick “The Dominator” Cruz. Now campaigning for the newly-christened UFC Bantamweight Championship, Bowles will be looking to take a step back towards the title, which will be on the line in the night’s main event at UFC 132.
Mizugaki (14-5-2) has alternated wins and losses in his last six fights. The former Cage Force ace faced ex-WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber last November, but was choked unconscious very late in the first round. He bounced back with a Split Decision win over Duran in March, but will need to put together a string of impressive victories to get himself into title contention. Though he is no stranger to decisions, Mizugaki has four knockout wins and could engage in a standup battle with Bowles.
UFC 132: “Cruz vs Bowles 2” takes place on July 2nd at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event is headlined by a UFC Bantamweight Championship rematch between Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber. Both Bowles and Mizugaki will be aiming to position themselves for a shot at the winner of the Cruz-Faber headliner.
UFC 132: “Cruz vs Faber 2” Fight Card (to date; subject to change):
– Dominick “The Dominator” Cruz vs “The California Kid” Urijah Faber [Bantamweight Championship]
– Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva vs Chris “The Crippler” Leben
– “The Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit vs Dong Hyun “Stun Gun” Kim
– Ryan “Darth” Bader vs “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz
– Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard vs Shane Roller
– Evan Dunham vs George Sotiropoulos
– Brian Bowles vs Takeya Mizugaki
– Anthony “The Assassin” Njokuani vs Andre Winner
– Erik “New Breed” Koch vs Cub Swanson
– Dennis Siver vs “Handsome” Matt Wiman
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)