Channelling her inner Cher, the returning Mizuki Inoue, last seen in action in 2020, was going by just Mizuki at UFC Vegas 79, where she took on Hannah Goldy in a strawweight scrap.
Not entirely unheard of, as fellow Japanese star RENA does the same under the RIZIN banner.
Mizuki was also coming off knee surgery; how she’d look after so much time away was a question. Goldy herself was also ending a layoff of just over a year.
Goldy looked to utilize her low kicks early as Mizuki stayed mobile on the outside. When they came together in a clinch, Goldy fired knees, but it was Mizuki who got the fight to the fence — though Goldy didn’t stay there. They came off the fence still clinching, went back to it, came off it again and traded knees. While there was a fair amount of back-and-forth in this elongated clinch, it was Mizuki doing a better job of imposing her will, putting Goldy’s back to the fence repeatedly.
They finally broke with just under two minutes left in the round, which gave Goldy a chance to get her hands going. She got just a little bit of offense in then chased a takedown, putting Mizuki on the fence in the dying seconds of the opening round.
Round two saw Mizuki get some top time roughly two minutes into the round, though Goldy scrambled out and nearly took top position. Goldy then fended off another Mizuki takedown attempt with a guillotine; moments later, she landed an inside trip for a takedown. Goldy backed off to her feet and had to dodge an upkick, then fired a knee that came dangerously close to being illegal, with the ref watching closely. They’d end up in another extended clinch after that, trading knees, before Goldy went after another trip — only for Mizuki to land on top.
The third round saw more clinch work, more knees exchanged, and more back-and-forth. The pair would finally open up a bit in the very last minute of the fight, trading hands to the buzzer in what amounted to a fairly close contest.
Official Result: Mizuki Inoue def. Hannah Goldy by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
