WEC 52 recap: Faber chokes out Mizugaki, Canadian Jabouin wins big

By Mike Johnston

The “California Kid” Urijah Faber will wave goodbye to the WEC on a winning note as he defeated Takeya Mizugaki in the main event at WEC 52. The two came out and were even for the first four minutes of the bout, but then Faber took control. He hopped on Mizugaki’s back and eventually sank in a rear-naked choke. Mizugaki refused to tap and went to sleep with ten seconds remaining in the first round. With the win, Faber moves into immediate title contention in the UFC’s new bantamweight (135lb) division.

In preliminary action, Montreal native Yves Jabouin won a dominant unanimous decision over Brandon Visher. Jabouin used a combination of superior striking and grappling to earn the judges decision. All three judges scored the bout 30-27 for the French-Canadian. The win snaps a two fight losing streak for Jabouin and keeps him a relevant figure in the featherweight division.

In the co-main event, Chad Mendes’ wrestling proved too strong for Javier Vasquez’s jiu-jitsu. In all three rounds, Mendes was able to hold Vasquez down and inflict some limited ground-and-pound. It was a prototypical Mendes victory. Mendes’ teammate Joseph Benevidez was also victorious as he submitted Wagnney Fabiano in the second round of their bantamweight match. It was a perfect night for Team Alpha Male with Faber, Mendes and Benevidez all earning wins.

Also on the main card Demitrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson upset the heavily favoured Damacio Page by third round guillotine choke. The first round saw Page over power Johnson, but in the second and third round, Johnson was relentless and tireless with his attack. Midway through the final round Johnson landed a combination that rocked Page and he followed that up by locking in the fight-ending guillotine. And, 22-year-old Eric Koch picked up “KO of the Night” by landing a flush head kick on Francisco Rivera a minute and a half into round one of their main card bout.

Plus, Cub Swanson and Mackens Semerzier engaged in one of the most entertaining fights of the year on the undercard. The two traded punches, kicks, knees, elbows and takedowns for 15 crowd pleasing minutes. In the end, Swanson won a controversial split decision.

Here are the complete results from WEC 52:

MAIN CARD

- Urijah Faber def. Takeya Mizugaki via Round 1 submission (rear-naked choke.

- Chad Mendes def. Javier Vazquez via unanimous.

- Erik Koch def. Francisco Rivera via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 1:36

- Joseph Benavidez def. Wagnney Fabiano via Round 2 submission.

- Demetrious Johnson def. Damacio Page via Round 3 submission.

PRELIMINARY CARD

- Raphael Assuncao def. L.C. Davis via unanimous decision.

- Anthony Njokuani def. Edward Faaloloto via Round 2 TKO.

- Dustin Poirier def. Zack Micklewright via Round 1 TKO.

- Michael McDonald def. Clint Godfrey via Round 1 submission.

- Cub Swanson def. Mackens Semerzier via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).

- Yves Jabouin def. Brandon Visher via unanimous decision.

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