SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Somehow, it took all this time for Eddie Wineland and Takeya Mizugaki to meet in the cage.
The bantamweight bangers have occupied the same division going back to the WEC days, but it wasn’t until Saturday at UFC on FOX 22 that the duo finally tangled.
And in a matchup of fighters who like to throw down, Wineland struck the first and decisive big blow. Wineland twice dropped Mizugaki with right hands in the opening round in a matter of seconds. The referee waved off the bout after the second one, giving the first-ever WEC bantamweight champ the TKO win at 3:04 of the opening round.
“My right hand is always there, I knew my timing was there,” said Wineland (23-11-1), who won his second straight fight. “I knew one shot was all I’d need to make an opening.”
Mizuagki (21-11-2) has dropped four of his past five bouts, while Wineland scored the 18th finish victory of his career.