Kyoji Horiguchi has done just about everything imaginable in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career … except hold Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) gold.
As one of Japan’s all-time greatest fighters, if not the greatest, Horiguchi made history at RIZIN 45 last month (Dec. 31, 2023). The former RIZIN and Bellator Bantamweight titleholder had his Flyweight title rematch against Makoto “Shinryu” Takahashi in the main event, where he won via a second round rear-naked choke (watch highlights). Adding the Flyweight title to Horiguchi’s resume makes him the first fighter in promotional history to have held belts in multiple weight classes.
No one else has fought and won as often as the 33-year-old American Top Team (ATT) product inside the RIZIN ring (13 wins, 14 fights), leaving his fighting future in question after his signing with Bellator in late 2021. However, Bellator was absorbed by Professional Fighters League (PFL) this past November 2023, officially bringing Horiguchi over to the roster. Ultimately, the newly-minted RIZIN Flyweight champion recently expressed that he doesn’t quite have an interest in seeing what the new era of PFL has in store for him. Instead, he’d rather go back to a familiar past stomping ground.
Nice
Arguably the best fighter not in the UFC. Who can he not beat in the UFC flw div?
At 33 though, why did he wait so long?
They gotta easy with the “if not the greatest” shit though as if he’s greater than Saku, Gomi, Sakurai. He’s up there but def not above them all.
https://www.mmanews.com/news/kyoji-horiguchi-calls-out-ufc-after-return-interest-dismissed
Kyoji Horiguchi Calls Out UFC After Having Return Interest Dismissed: ‘They’re Not Putting Effort In The Flyweight Division’
Kyoji Horiguchi feels the UFC’s prioritization of profits ever since going public on the trade market has led to them not having an interest in signing him.
Wow. Always wondered if he could come back and take the title, I think he beats all the champs post Cejudo. Maybe Cejudo too at Flw.
What’s this all about though - they can get Perreira but not Hori? Is he pricing himself out? Or they just don’t give af?
They just don’t give af about 125. I think they wanted to keep the division thin so a guy like Brandon Moreno could dominate it, but even that didn’t work out.