Kyoji Horiguchi can be the man that the UFC has waited for with bated breath. Japan has a storied martial arts history, but the sport of mixed martial arts has long lacked a mainstream star from that area. In fact, the UFC has never had a Japanese fighter carry one of its title belts. Horiguchi‘s performance at UFC 182 gave rise to the idea that he may be the man to change that point in history.
The UFC currently has Horiguchi ranked as the No. 8 fighter within the flyweight division. When looking at the rest of the group listed before him, Horiguchi is in a good spot to find himself challenging for the divisional title if he can keep this pace going.
Damon Martin of Fox Sports recognized the value of this win and what it could do for Horiguchi‘s UFC run: “The win will surely push Horiguchi up the rankings where he will hopefully earn a top five opponent for his next fight. Depending on timing, a matchup with John Dodson, who will be returning from injury later this year, could be just the fight the flyweight division needs right now.”
Horiguchi‘s most recent appearance was at UFC 182 against Louis Gaudinot. In this three-round affair, it was clear that the Japanese competitor was a class above what his opponent could offer.
According to the Fight Metric report, Horiguchi landed 59 of his 123 attempted strikes. While this is impressive, what is even more noteworthy is that he was able to make Gaudinot miss nearly 75 percent of his attempted strikes. His speed also allowed Horiguchi to land the only takedown off of a scramble during the second round of the contest.
Speed is a key factor because this is a vital advantage that current champion Demetrious Johnson has brought to the table during his title run. Johnson has been able to outmaneuver many of his opponents in nearly every area of combat. Joseph Benavidez was one of the only men that could contest that speed, yet it only seemed apparent during their first matchup at UFC 152.
It would be very interesting to see whether or not Horiguchi could match Johnson’s speed during a 25-minute affair. He has shown the ability to land strikes with power, as he has nine wins via knockout. Johnson has been hurt by heavy hitters in the past. While fighting Gaudinot, Horiguchi landed a number of accurate combinations.
Timing will play a major part in where Horiguchi‘s career goes next as John Dodson is currently out with a knee injury. John Lineker will face Ian McCall at UFC 183. Either of these men, or John Moraga, would be a step in the right direction to build up Horiguchi‘s overall value.
It is likely the UFC has long wanted a Japanese star in which the organization can promote to fans in that region of the world. At UFC 182, Horiguchi put on a performance that will help him get one step closer to becoming that fighter.
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