Former UFC featherweight Yoshinori Horie, who is currently undefeated for RIZIN FF, struggled to make ends meet at the start of his mixed martial arts (MMA) journey. “Rising Star” quickly discovered just how difficult it can be to embark on a career in combat sports — even for some of the biggest names in the business.
So Horie admittedly did what he needed to do to make it happen.
“Five years ago, when I was with a friend, I was told that I could get money just by handjob in Shibuya, but I followed him, but I thought it was like that AV,” Horie wrote on Twitter (via Low Kick). “Lol I was told to hide my face with a solid mosaic and it was explained that it wasn’t like that, but I was deceived in various ways lol I didn’t have the money and I really wanted to do martial arts on my own!”
Horie, 26, jumped out to an 8-1 start on the international circuit, racking up five knockouts as a “Rising Star” for Pancrase. Unfortunately for the Japanese upstart, his one and only appearance inside the Octagon resulted in a third-round defeat to Hakeem Dawodu at UFC 240.
But his overall success in MMA means no more part-time jobs.
“I got 20,000 yen in less than an hour, but it was pretty big! I was able to face martial arts in a short time, exceeding the amount of two days of part-time work that I do for eight hours while standing! It’s pretty painful now, but as long as I’m alive I can chase my dreams! And I like women, not gays! I’ve done the money to live to do martial arts!”
Horie was last seen beating Hirotaka Nakada at RIZIN FF “Trigger First” in November.