Kyoji Horiguchi is able to put apart his friendship with Alexandre Pantoja if it means a shot at UFC gold.
After 10 years faraway from his final struggle contained in the Octagon, the previous RIZIN and Bellator champion returns to MMA’s largest stage, hoping to assert the one world title that has eluded him up to now. And all of it begins on Saturday, June 21, when Horiguchi meets surging Dagestani sensation Tagir Ulanbekov at a UFC Struggle Night time card in Baku, Azerbaijan.
With a win over Ulanbekov, Horiguchi will instantly thrust himself into the flyweight high 10, placing him in a first-rate place to problem for the division’s high prize. Nonetheless, some query whether or not or not Horiguchi will ever problem for the title, given his friendship with Pantoja, who at the moment sits atop the flyweight throne.
Throughout a current interview with MMA Junkie, Horiguchi made it clear that he wouldn’t let his relationship with ‘The Cannibal’ get in his method of checking off the final field left on his MMA bucket checklist.
“I don’t care, actually, however I must get belt,” Horiguchi mentioned. “However my good friend has a belt, you recognize? Yeah, yeah, it’s going to be good struggle… Yeah. Struggle a good friend, good friend, then make good cash. It’s going to be good.”
Kyoji Horiguchi seems to be to proceed the Dominant Run he walked away from 9 years in the past
Between 2013 and 2016, Horiguchi put collectively a formidable 7-1 run contained in the Octagon, his solely loss coming towards P4P nice Demetrious Johnson. Following a win over Ali Bagautinov at UFC Struggle Night time 99, Horiguchi declined to increase his contract with the promotion, as an alternative opting to signal with RIZIN, the place he’d spend the subsequent seven years of his profession.
Throughout his time in Japan, Horiguchi went 14-1 and rides into his UFC return on a five-fight win streak.
