When T.J. Dillashaw was granted the opportunity to fight Renan Barao for the UFC bantamweight championship in the UFC 173 headliner, Takeya Mizugaki lost a major opportunity and was understandably dejected. After a four-fight winning streak against opponents ranked outside the top 10, Mizugaki had high hopes of breaking into the title mix of the 135-pound weight class when he signed to fight Dillashaw on the Memorial Day weekend fight card. However, when UFC 173 lost its originally planned main event between Chris Weidman and Lyoto Machida, Dillashaw moved up to face Barao, and Mizugaki was left without an opponent. At first, Mizugaki (19-7-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) was let down by switch in opposition, but when UFC matchmakers presented him with a bout against rising contender Francisco Rivera (10-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) in Dillashaw’s place, Mizugaki said all his excitement came rushing back. “I was disappointed that I couldn’t fight Dillashaw for a couple days,” Mizugaki told MMAjunkie Radio through an interpreter
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Why Francisco Rivera is a silver-lining opponent for UFC 173’s Takeya Mizugaki – MMA Junkie