Faber submits Japanese at WEC-52

Urijah faber

the american Urijah faber debuted on the right foot in the WEC bantamweight division. The former featherweight champion faced the Japanese Takeya mizugaki at WEC-52, an event that ended recently in Las Vegas, and he needed just over four minutes to submit his opponent with a beautiful rear naked choke. The show also featured two Brazilians in action. Raphael Assunção derrotou L. C. Davis, in the unanimous decision of the judges, on the preliminary card, while, between the main fights, Wagnney fabiano was finished by the hard Joseph Benavidez.

Faber submits in the first round

In the main fight of the night, Urijah faber showed why he was the WEC's poster boy for a long time. Facing Takeya Mizugaki, the “California Kid, as he is known, didn't give the Japanese athlete a chance. Right at the beginning of the fight, Faber controlled the distance well in the stand-up fight and landed the best blows. With the duel balanced at medium distance, the North American tried to shorten and work in the clinch and with takedowns. After trying to land a guillotine choke, well defended by Mizugaki, Urijah went to the Japanese fighter's back and managed a tight rear-naked choke. As is usual with Asian fighters, Takeya didn't tap and ended up going out, and Faber won by submission.

Chad Mendes wins one more and remains unbeaten
In the least busy fight of the night, Chad Mendez asserted his favoritism against Cuban Javier Vazquez. During the three rounds of the fight, the North American used his powerful striking and a good takedown game to control the duel. Javier, who at the beginning of the fight tried to work on an offensive guard, was unable to maintain the pace for long and was completely dominated in the last round. In the end, Chad Mendez won with a unanimous decision from the judges. With the result, the North American athlete recorded his new victory in nine MMA fights

Erik Koch knocks out quickly

Erik Koch was scheduled to face Josh Grispi at the event, but his opponent was removed from the card to fight for the category belt against Brazilian José Aldo. As a result, Francisco Rivera was invited to the event and did not do well. Koch set his pace right at the beginning of the fight with a lot of movement and aggression. After connecting good blows in the exchange, Erik connected a beautiful high kick that knocked Rivera down and ended the fight with a sequence of punches on the ground.

Benavidez fights better and submits Wagney
In the face of hard Joseph Benavidez, Wagnney Fabiano fought a balanced first round against the North American. The beginning of the fight was marked by striking, with the Brazilian trying to work with low kicks and Benavidez looking for boxing blows, where the local athlete had a slight advantage. If in the first round the duel remained standing, in the second the fight was decided on the ground. Joseph soon attacked the Brazilian's legs, who defended himself well and fell on top, but the American landed a fair guillotine, where Wagnney had difficulty defending himself. After getting out of the tight choke, Fabiano was on top with his guard passed, but he couldn't take advantage and was swept. When he tried to reverse the position, the Nova União athlete ended up giving in his neck and was finished with the guillotine.

Johnson submits Damacio Page
In the first fight of the main card, Damacio Page put his wrestling into practice and took down Demetrious Johnson for several times, adding points and working with strikes from above. In the second round, the story changed, as it was Jonhson's turn to work with takedowns and ground and pound punches, balancing the duel. In the final and decisive round, Demetrious took advantage of his opponent's fatigue to continue putting pressure on Damacio. After another takedown, Jonhson landed a tight guillotine from the top and forced three taps.

Raphael wins in the preliminaries

The first Brazilian to step into the Octagon, Raphael Assunção managed to recover from a streak of two consecutive losses and defeated LC Davis. In the first round, the Tupiniquim athlete almost ended the duel with a guillotine choke, followed by an arm-bar, but both blows were well defended by the North American. In the following rounds, Raphael maintained the pace and won the duel with a unanimous decision from the judges.

Main Card
Urijah faber vs. Takeya Mizugaki
Chad Mendes vs. Javier Vazquez
Erik Koch defeated Francisco Rivera by knockout in R1;
Joseph Benavidez finished Wagnney fabiano with a guillotine in R2
Demetrious Johnson finished Damacio Page with a guillotine choke in R3;

Preliminary Card
Raphael Assunção defeated L.C. Davis by unanimous decision;
Anthony Njokuani defeated Edward Faaloloto via TKO in R2;
Dustin poirier defeated Zack Micklewright via TKO in R1;
Michael McDonald submitted Clint Godfrey with an armbar in R1;
Cub swanson defeated Mackens Semerzier via split decision;
Yves Jabouin defeated Brandon Visher via unanimous decision

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