As expected former World Extreme Cagefighting 145-pound champion Urijah Faber (23-4 MMA, 8-3 WEC) is dropping to 135 pounds and now meets fellow bantamweight Takeya Mizugaki (13-4-2 MMA, 2-2 WEC) in August at WEC 50.
MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com) has confirmed the fight with a source close to one competitor who said bout agreements could be signed as early as this week.
The fight, first reported by MMAWeekly.com on Tuesday, takes place Aug. 18 at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
Faber vs. Mizugaki is slated for the night's Versus-televised main card, which also includes a likely headliner between WEC bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz and Joseph Benavidez.
Faber, who reigned as the WEC's 145-pound champ and emerged as the organization's biggest star during a 13-fight win streak from 2005 to 2008, since has gone 2-3 in his past five fights. He lost his belt to Mike Brown at WEC 36, dropped a rematch at WEC 41, and after getting another shot at the belt, suffered a decision loss to now-champ Jose Aldo at WEC 48 in April.
Mixed in with the losses were submissions wins over Jens Pulver and Raphael Assuncao.
Now ready to make a title run in a new weight class, the 31-year-old meets Mizugaki, who got a title shot of his own with then-champ Miguel Torres during his promotional debut at WEC 40 in April 2009. The Shooto vet dropped a close unanimous decision in a "Fight of the Night" performance.
Since the title loss, the 26-year-old Mizugaki has posted decision wins over Jeff Curran (WEC 42) and Rani Yahya (WEC 48) and suffered a decision loss to contender Scott Jorgensen (WEC 45).
For the latest on WEC 50, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.
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Originally Posted by SPX
