Faber-Mizugaki, Cruz-Benavidez Agreed for WEC 50
Loretta Hunt Jun 9, 2010
Former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber
will make his bantamweight debut against Takeya
Mizugaki, while that division’s champion, Dominick
Cruz, will defend his title against Joseph
Benavidez in a rematch at WEC 50 on Aug. 18 at The Pearl at the
Palms Casino and Resort in Las Vegas. The event will air live on
Versus. MMAWeekly.com and KHTK’s “The Carmichael Dave Show” first
reported the two headlining bouts on Tuesday. Sherdog.com has
independently confirmed both bouts.
Faber, the promotion’s biggest star, dropped a unanimous decision to 145-pound champion Jose Aldo at WEC 48 “Aldo vs. Faber” on April 25 the Arco Arena in Sacramento, Calif. The 31-year-old Faber, who’s lost three of his last five bouts at featherweight, has flirted with dropping down a weight class since earlier this year.
Mizugaki, who waged one of the more notable bouts of 2009 against former champion Miguel Torres at WEC 40, earned a unanimous decision over Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Rani Yahya on the same card.
The 25-year-old Cruz grasped the promotion’s 135-pound title from Brian Bowles at WEC 47 last March in Columbus, Ohio, when Bowles couldn’t continue into the third round from a broken hand. Cruz didn’t escape unscathed either, having spent the last few months rehabilitating torn tendons and ligaments, as well as a hair-line fracture in his own hand. Cruz outworked Benavidez en route to a unanimous decision at WEC 42 last August.
Team Alpha Male’s Benavidez shot into his title contendership with a commanding performance over former 135-poumd kingpin Miguel Torres at WEC 47. Benavidez also trains with Faber.
Faber, the promotion’s biggest star, dropped a unanimous decision to 145-pound champion Jose Aldo at WEC 48 “Aldo vs. Faber” on April 25 the Arco Arena in Sacramento, Calif. The 31-year-old Faber, who’s lost three of his last five bouts at featherweight, has flirted with dropping down a weight class since earlier this year.
Mizugaki, who waged one of the more notable bouts of 2009 against former champion Miguel Torres at WEC 40, earned a unanimous decision over Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Rani Yahya on the same card.
The 25-year-old Cruz grasped the promotion’s 135-pound title from Brian Bowles at WEC 47 last March in Columbus, Ohio, when Bowles couldn’t continue into the third round from a broken hand. Cruz didn’t escape unscathed either, having spent the last few months rehabilitating torn tendons and ligaments, as well as a hair-line fracture in his own hand. Cruz outworked Benavidez en route to a unanimous decision at WEC 42 last August.
Team Alpha Male’s Benavidez shot into his title contendership with a commanding performance over former 135-poumd kingpin Miguel Torres at WEC 47. Benavidez also trains with Faber.
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