The second round began and Mizugaki got the takedown after catching an Escovedo kick. He was reluctant to follow Cole to the ground and tried to attack while standing up. Cole stood up and started to find a home for his leg kicks. His striking defense wasn't up to snuff when dealing with a fantastic boxer in Mizugaki. Cole landed a head kick but didn't land with the shin. He went to the well one too many times and Mizugaki avoided the strikes and answered with an upper cut-hook combination to the chin. Mizugaki continued to land to the body and a right hook dropped Cole Escovedo. Cole was frustrated and clinched up. This proved to be a terrible idea with Takeya Mizugaki landing numerous shots to the head. Escovedo survived the first onslaught but the he couldn't handle the quantity and quality of the strikes. A left hook dropped Escovedo and some ground and pound forced the referee to stop the fight.
Coming into the fight, there were questions about the skill level of Mizugaki. He's always been thought of as an absolute gamer but he's never really picked up that big defining win under the Zuffa umbrella. He was 3-4 and never put together a win streak. Now 4-4 under Zuffa and 15-6-2 overall, Takeya Mizugaki finally got his defining win. Escovdeo was the first WEC featherweight champion before dropping the belt to Urijah Faber at WEC 19. Since then he's been on a bit of a roller coaster ride with his career. Whenever he takes a step up in competition he never comes away with the victory. Now 0-2 in the UFC and 17-8 overall, it is likely that tonight was the last time we'll have seen Cole Escovedo in the promotion. Check out Kid Nate's analysis of the fight over at MMA Nation.
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