Having fought just once in the past five years, Mizuki Inoue (or simply Mizuki) returned to action on Saturday, kicking off UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi against Jaqueline Amorim.
Japanese strawweight Mizuki had won her last fight, a decision over Hannah Goldy, in 2023 and was 2-1 in the UFC overall.
A former LFA champ, Brazil’s Amorim looked a little tighter early, more mobile and composed. Mizuki worked her way forward, coming close to catching a kick a couple of times. Two minutes in, however, and Amorim found her opening, shooting and landing a takedown. Mizuki did a good job getting back up, but was soon taken down once again; this time, Amorim was able to get her hooks in and hunt a rear-naked choke.
Mizuki rolled, and escaped the choke, but that allowed Amorim to move to mount. Another roll from Mizuki, and she came close to reversing, eventually winding up on top. That allowed her to land some punches to the side of the head while Amorim closed her guard, seemingly happy to work off her back. Some big punches hit home for Mizuki, scoring some damage to end the round.
The fight went back to the ground early in round two, with Amorim this time attacking leg, a possible kneebar in play. Mizuki fended it off for a time, but wound up on her back before working her way back to her feet, two minutes still on the clock. Amorim then jumped guard, but despite her ground game, that ultimately just allowed Mizuki to get to work on top. Amorim threw up a triangle, but the Japanese fighter broke free with ease. Mizuki found space for some ground n’ pound in those last few minutes, making the round close and finishing strong.
Amorim looked to have lost a step in the third, shooting from too far out, practically in slow motion. In a clinch, Mizuki hurt Amorim, landing a knee and several uppercuts, then another knee, and one more uppercut. Amorim fell back, Mizuki getting on top and working over the body. Mizuki finally got back up, forcing a tiring Amorim back to her feet. A clash of heads followed; Mizuki then ripped the body, hurting Amorim. Mizuki, however, was badly bloodied from that headbutt. She hit the body again, and Amorim shot for a takedown out of desperation. Mizuki got up, hit another body shot, and wound up with Amorim shooting again, only for Mizuki to get back on top. At this point, Mizuki was winning where ever the fight went, both on the ground and on the feet. She underscored what looked to be a winning performance by landing several hard ground strikes to end the bout.
Official Result: Mizuki Inoue def. Jaqueline Amorim by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
