Tag: kyoji horiguchi

Bellator 272 Results & Highlights: Pettis KOs Horiguchi

Bellator 272 took place tonight from the Mohegan Sun Arena with a title fight in one of their most challenging divisions.

Sergio Pettis took on the former Bellator MMA and RIZIN bantamweight champion, Kyoji Horiguchi. This was Pettis’ first title d…

Bellator 272

Bellator 272 took place tonight from the Mohegan Sun Arena with a title fight in one of their most challenging divisions.

Sergio Pettis took on the former Bellator MMA and RIZIN bantamweight champion, Kyoji Horiguchi. This was Pettis’ first title defense since winning it from Juan Archuleta at Bellator 258. Fans might remember that when Horiguchi held the two coveted 135-pound titles he had to relinquish them when he was injured in 2019. 

Oddly enough, the injury happened just before the end of the year and before COVID-19 rocked the world. It gave Horiguchi enough time to rest and return to action at the end of 2020 at RIZIN 26 where he avenged his non-title fight loss to Kai Asakura.

Check out the highlights from the main event between Sergio Pettis and Kyoji Horiguchi below followed by the Bellator 272 fast results!

BELLATOR MMA 272: PETTIS VS. HORIGUCHI Quick Results


MAIN CARD

Bantamweight Championship Bout: Sergio Pettis © def. Kyoji Horiguchi via knockout (spinning backfist): R4, 3:24

Jeremy Kennedy def. Emmanuel Sanchez via unanimous decision (30-27×3)

Josh Hill def. Jared Scoggins via knockout (punch): R2, 0:56

Johnny Eblen def. Collin Huckbody via TKO (punches): R1, 1:11

PRELIMINARY CARD

Alexander Shabliy def. Bobby King via unanimous decision (30-27×3)

Kai Kamaka III def. John DeJesus via unanimous decision (29-28×3)

Levan Chokheli def. Vinicius de Jesus via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27×2)

Justin Montalvo def. Jacob Bohn via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28×2)

Mike Hamel def. Killys Mota via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)

Spike Carlyle def. Dan Moret via technical submission (rear-naked choke): R3, 2:58

Kyle Crutchmer def. Oliver Enkamp via unanimous decision (30-27×3)

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Sergio Pettis to Make First BW Title Defense vs. Kyoji Horiguchi on Dec. 3

Sergio Pettis Kyoji HoriguchiBellator bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis will finally make his return to the cage to make his first title defense against Kyoji Horiguchi on Dec. 3 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. Bellator has yet to officially name the event numerically. ESPN’s Marc Raimondi was among the first to report the Pettis vs. Horiguchi […]

Sergio Pettis Kyoji Horiguchi

Bellator bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis will finally make his return to the cage to make his first title defense against Kyoji Horiguchi on Dec. 3 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT.

Bellator has yet to officially name the event numerically. ESPN’s Marc Raimondi was among the first to report the Pettis vs. Horiguchi booking.

Remarkably, Horiguchi will still be on Rizin’s roster to defend his bantamweight title next year. Rizin and Bellator have a long-standing relationship when it comes to crossover fighters between the promotions.

Pettis earned the belt after out-pointing Juan Archuleta at Bellator 258 earlier this year. He has won four fights in a row, including three in Bellator after a long tenure in the UFC alongside his brother, former UFC champion Anthony Pettis.

The other fights on the card have yet to be named. It’s also unclear if the Pettis vs. Horiguchi bantamweight showdown will be the only title fight on the card, although Bellator hasn’t had many events with multiple title fights.

Sergio Pettis will make his first Bellator bantamweight title defense since earning the belt against Juan Archuleta

Horiguchi will look to begin his second stint in Bellator with style, after a one-off against Darrion Caldwell at Bellator 222. He would go on to return to Rizin to split fights with Kai Asakura.

The Pettis vs. Horiguchi bantamweight title bout could be the last of its kind for a while, as Bellator headman Scott Coker has hinted at a Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix for some time next year. Nothing has materialized or been announced yet, but that could change soon.

Pettis, Horiguchi, and others set up what is a fascinating Bellator bantamweight division, which arguably stands toe-to-toe with the UFC’s talented bantamweight roster.

What is your early prediction for Sergio Pettis vs. Kyoji Horiguchi?

Sergio Pettis Defends BW Title Against Kyoji Horiguchi At Bellator 272

Sergio Pettis has his first Bellator bantamweight title defense set. Pettis will face former Bellator and RIZIN bantamweight champion, Kyoji Horiguchi at Bellator 272 on December 3. Bellator announced the fight on the Morning Kombat show. The event will take place at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., with the event airing on Showtime. Sergio Pettis […]

Continue Reading Sergio Pettis Defends BW Title Against Kyoji Horiguchi At Bellator 272 at MMA News.

Sergio Pettis has his first Bellator bantamweight title defense set.

Pettis will face former Bellator and RIZIN bantamweight champion, Kyoji Horiguchi at Bellator 272 on December 3. Bellator announced the fight on the Morning Kombat show. The event will take place at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., with the event airing on Showtime.

Sergio Pettis (21-5) is coming off a decision win over Juan Archuleta back in May at Bellator 258 to win the bantamweight title. He is currently 3-0 in Bellator as he beat Alfred Khashakyan by submission in his debut and followed that up with a decision victory over Ricky Bandejas in the main event of the first Bellator card back from COVID-19.

The 28-year-old signed with Bellator in 2019 after fighting out his UFC contract. He ended his UFC tenure with a win over Tyson Nam and went 9-5 inside the Octagon. Pettis picked up notable wins over Joseph Benavidez, Brandon Moreno, and John Moraga while losing to the likes of Henry Cejudo, Rob Font, and Alex Caceres.

Kyoji Horiguchi (29-3) has not fought since New Year’s Eve of 2020 as he knocked out Kai Asakura to reclaim the RIZIN bantamweight belt after his shocking KO loss to Asakura in August of 2019. The former UFC title challenger also won the Bellator bantamweight title with a decision win over Darrion Caldwell but was forced out to vacate both titles due to him tearing his knee. He then was a free agent and recently signed with Bellator.

After Horiguchi signed with Bellator, this was the fight to make as he never lost the title. He is also a big name in the sport, and on paper, this should be an excellent fight with Pettis. The winner will also have options as Raufeon Stots or the winner of James Gallagher-Patrick Mix will be next in line.

Who do you think will win at Bellator 272, Sergio Pettis or Kyoji Horiguchi?

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Kyoji Horiguchi Signs With Bellator, Scott Coker Reacts

Kyoji Horiguchi has been added to the Bellator roster. Horiguchi currently reigns as the Rizin Bantamweight Champion. He also had a run with the Bellator Bantamweight Title along the way but was his time with the promotion was part of a cross-promotion…

Kyoji Horiguchi has been added to the Bellator roster. Horiguchi currently reigns as the Rizin Bantamweight Champion. He also had a run with the Bellator Bantamweight Title along the way but was his time with the promotion was part of a cross-promotion partnership. He was forced to relinquish the belt due to an injury. Bellator […]

Continue Reading Kyoji Horiguchi Signs With Bellator, Scott Coker Reacts at MMA News.

Kyoji Horiguchi Stops Kai Asakura In RIZIN FF 26 Rematch

HoriguchiRedemption for bantamweight standout, Kyoji ‘The Typhoon’ Horiguchi. Returning from a debilitating knee injury which forced him to vacant his Bellator MMA bantamweight crown, the 30-year-old headlined RIZIN FF 26 this morning in Saitama, Japan — stopping two-time foe, Kai Asakura to reclaim the promotion’s world championship. Horiguchi, a former UFC flyweight title challenger suffered […]

Horiguchi

Redemption for bantamweight standout, Kyoji ‘The Typhoon’ Horiguchi. Returning from a debilitating knee injury which forced him to vacant his Bellator MMA bantamweight crown, the 30-year-old headlined RIZIN FF 26 this morning in Saitama, Japan — stopping two-time foe, Kai Asakura to reclaim the promotion’s world championship.

Horiguchi, a former UFC flyweight title challenger suffered a nasty knee injury in October of last year, ultimately forcing him to vacate the Bellator title he lifted via a unanimous decision win over Darrion ‘The Wolf’ Caldwell, the following month.

Unbeaten in his next thirteen outings since dropping a buzzer-beating armbar loss to ONE Championship tournament victor, Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson, Horiguchi battled with the above mentioned, Asakura in a non-title matchup, dropping a stunning first-round knockout defeat. 

Sixteen months later, Horiguchi returned to action against two-time foe, Asakura, and after expertly finding his mark with calf kicks over and over again in the opening exchanges, Horiguchi countered a jumping knee from his compatriot to stun and subsequently drop him with a barrage before continued ground-and-pound strikes before the three-minute mark ended Asakura’s reign. 

Rounding off a sixteen fight card, the promotion also fielded former PRIDE FC great, Takanori Gomi who claimed a majority decision win over Koji Tanaka. In a kickboxing bout, renowned striker, Tenshin Nasukawa managed to grab a unanimous judging victory over Kumandoi Petcharoenvit. Opening the card, Ayaka Hamasaki was crowned the super atomweight champion via a stunning head-scissors submission victory over Miyuu Yamamoto in a vacant title matchup. 

With Horiguchi’s win, the American Top Team trainee now improves to 29-3 professionally, adding Asakura to a staggering list of talent already featured on his win column. Prior to this morning’s win, Horiguchi had twice bested the above mentioned, Caldwell, as well as grabbing victories over Ben Nyugen, Hiromasa Ougikubo (x2), Ian McCall, Manel Kape, Ali Baugautinov, Neil Seery, and Louis Gaudinot to name a few. 

Speculation has already begun to mount as to what’s next for Horiguchi, with a bantamweight title challenge against recently minted Bellator best, Juan Archuleta already floated, as well as a potential return to the UFC to tackle either flyweight champion, Deiveson Figueiredo, or a bantamweight siege against Petr Yan. 

Kyoji Horiguchi Returns to MMA on New Year’s Eve at Rizin 26

Kyoji Horiguchi will return to MMA on New Year’s Eve at Rizin 26. Rizin Fighting Federation made the announcement in a press release that the former Rizin and Bellator Bantamweight Champion would return in a rematch against Kai Asakura. Asakura i…

Kyoji Horiguchi will return to MMA on New Year’s Eve at Rizin 26. Rizin Fighting Federation made the announcement in a press release that the former Rizin and Bellator Bantamweight Champion would return in a rematch against Kai Asakura. Asakura is the current Rizin Bantamweight Champion and the last opponent to hand Horiguchi a loss […]

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