Bowles-Mizugaki Penciled for UFC 132 in Las Vegas

Brian Bowles (right) will line up across from Takeya Mizugaki at UFC 132 on July 2. | Photo: Dave Mandel

The UFC announced on Monday that the fighters have verbally agreed to meet at the event, which takes place July 2 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

“Brian Bowles looks to regain the bantamweight championship title, but first he’ll have to take on hard-hitting, perennial top-10 contender Takeya Mizugaki at UFC 132,” UFC President Dana White stated.

The show’s titular headliner will see 135-pound champion Dominick Cruz rematch former WEC featherweight kingpin Urijah Faber in the UFC’s first-ever bantamweight main event.

Bowles, 30, had a 5-1 WEC run which included one “Knockout” and two “Submission of the Night” bonuses. In his March 3 UFC debut -- a rematch of an August 2008 bout -- the West Virginia native submitted Damacio Page via guillotine choke at 3:30 of the opening round, the exact same time and method as in their first meeting.

Crowd-pleasing slugger Mizugaki also made his first trip to the Octagon on March 3, earning a three-round split decision over fellow UFC newcomer Reuben Duran. The 27-year-old ex-Cage Force champion has alternated wins and losses since joining WEC in April 2009, besting Duran, Rani Yahya and Jeff Curran while falling to Faber, Scott Jorgensen and Miguel Torres.