Takeya Mizugaki

Takeya Mizugaki (水垣偉弥) (born December 16, 1983) is a retired Japanese mixed martial artist who most notably competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor from 2005 to 2020, Mizugaki also competed for Absolute Championship Berkut, WEC, Shooto, and Cage Force.

Mixed martial arts career
Mizugaki began his mixed martial arts career and competed in respected Japanese promotions Shooto and Cage Force. He was the Shooto Rookie of the Year in 2005 and winner of the Cage Force Bantamweight Tournament.

World Extreme Cagefighting
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. He fought Jeff Curran on August 9, 2009, at WEC 42, he won by decision.

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. Mizugaki instead faced Scott Jorgensen and lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Mizugaki faced Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Rani Yahya on April 24, 2010, at WEC 48. He won the fight via unanimous decision (29–28, 30–27, 29-28).

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. However, Faber was forced off the card with an injury. As a result, Mizugaki was also pulled from the event.

Mizugaki was defeated by Faber via first round submission November 11, 2010, at WEC 52. Mizugaki showed good take down defense but was hurt via punches toward the end of the first round, allowing Faber to take his back. After Faber was able to sink in a rear naked choke, Mizugaki refused to tap and as a result, was rendered unconscious.

Ultimate Fighting Championship
On October 28, 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As part of the merger, most WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC.

Mizugaki was expected to face Francisco Rivera on March 3, 2011, at UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann. However, Rivera had to withdraw from the bout due to injury, and was replaced by UFC newcomer Reuben Duran. Mizugaki defeated Duran via split decision.

Mizugaki faced Brian Bowles on July 2, 2011, at UFC 132. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Mizugaki faced Cole Escovedo on September 24, 2011, at UFC 135. Mizugaki utilized his crisp boxing to defeat Escovedo at 4:30 of the 2nd round via TKO.

Mizugaki faced Chris Cariaso on February 26, 2012, at UFC 144. Cariaso defeated Mizugaki via a controversial unanimous decision. Despite the loss on the scorecards, UFC president Dana White felt Mizugaki won the bout and stated in the post-fight press conference that he would be paid a win bonus.

Mizugaki was expected to face Jeff Hougland on September 1, 2012, at UFC 151. However, after UFC 151 was cancelled, Mizugaki/Hougland was rescheduled and took place on November 10, 2012, at UFC on Fuel TV 6. Mizugaki won the fight via unanimous decision.

Mizugaki faced Bryan Caraway on March 3, 2013, at UFC on Fuel TV 8. He won the fight via split decision, with two of the judges giving him the first and third rounds where he outstruck Caraway. This marked Mizugaki's first back-to-back wins since 2008.

Mizugaki faced Érik Pérez on August 28, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 27. He won the fight via split decision.

Mizugaki fought Nam Phan on December 7, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 33. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Mizugaki was expected to face T.J. Dillashaw on May 24, 2014, at UFC 173. However, on March 27, the UFC announced that Dillashaw was moved up to the main event to face Bantamweight champion Renan Barão. Mizugaki instead faced Francisco Rivera. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Mizugaki faced Dominick Cruz on September 27, 2014, at UFC 178. Mizugaki lost the fight via TKO in the first round after Cruz got a take-down and landed several punches against the cage.

Mizugaki faced Aljamain Sterling on April 18, 2015, at UFC on Fox 15, replacing an injured Manvel Gamburyan. He lost the fight via submission in the third round.

Mizugaki faced George Roop on September 27, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 75. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Mizugaki next faced Cody Garbrandt on August 20, 2016, at UFC 202. He lost the fight via TKO in the opening minute of the first round.

Mizugaki faced Eddie Wineland on December 17, 2016, at UFC on Fox 22. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round and was subsequently released from the promotion.

Absolute Championship Berkut
Mizugaki made his debut in the ACB against Russia's Rustam Kerimov on September 30, 2017, at ACB 71. He lost the fight via TKO at 3:19 of the first round.

Next, he faced Murad Kalamov at ACB 80 on February 16, 2018. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

In his final fight in the ACB, Mizugaki faced Pietro Menga at ACB 87 on May 19, 2018. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Last fights and retirement
Mizugaki was expected to face Guangyou Ning at Rebel FC 9 on September 7, 2018, but the event was eventually cancelled.

Mizugaki faced Shoji Maruyama at DEEP 89 Impact on May 12, 2019, winning the fight via unanimous decision.

He then signed with Rizin and made his promotional debut against Manel Kape at Rizin 18 on August 18, 2019. He lost the fight via technical knockout in the second round. Mizugaki retired from mixed martial arts after the fight, but announced the retirement not until early June 2020.

Personal life
Mizugaki holds a master's degree in electrical engineering from Kanto Gakuin University.

In 2021, Mizugaki opened his gym, the Belva Fight and Fitness.

Championships and Accomplishments

 * Cage Force
 * Cage Force Bantamweight Championship (One time)
 * Shooto
 * 2005 Shooto Bantamweight Rookie Tournament Winner
 * World Extreme Cagefighting
 * Fight of the Night (Two times)