The UFC has announced a high level Bantamweight bout for UFC 178 ob September 27th as former champion Dominick Cruz returns to face Takeya Mizugaki. For Cruz, it marks the first time he will be fighting in over 3 years so the match will be seen as a barometer for how strong he will be on his return. Mizugaki is riding a five fight winning streak and he needs to dispatch Cruz if he is going to keep his momentum.
This is a match to stay away from at the books, as there is really no way to know what type of fighter Cruz will be when he returns to the ring. We know that he last fought in October of 2011, when he beat Demetrious Johnson, and he was riding a 10 fight winning streak that included wins over standouts Joseph Benavides (twice) and Urijah Faber. But you can throw all that out the window, because multiple knee surgeries have completely derailed his career. He was due to return last December, but in the build-up to the match he was injured again.
It is a shame to say it, but there are still many weeks between now and fight time, and the very real possibility exists that Cruz will get hurt again in preparation. For Mizugaki, he deserves a step up fight and it would be a shame to see him shelved, so hopefully the UFC as a back up plan.
Mizugaki is a good, tough fight for Cruz. He is gritty and tough to take out, and he takes punishment on the way in. This int necessarily a great strategy against a guy like Cruz normally, but he is going to be best served if he can set a high pace throughout the fight and force Cruz to work. No matter how skilled a fighter is, and Cruz is very skilled, after such a long layoff that was filled with so much pain and doubt, Mizugaki needs to deflate Cruz’ from the start of the fight and not let him get started.
No matter what the line is for this fight or whether you are in or out f the action, this is going to be one to watch simply to see how viable a force Cruz may still be in the weight class.
