The flyweight title picture is foggy given the unknown status of
ex-champ Alexandre Pantoja, while current beltholder Joshua Van is
practically begging for the next challenge. It could come from this
co-headliner that pits Albazi (17-2, 5-1 UFC) against Horiguchi
(35-5, 1 NC; 8-1 UFC), depending on how everything else shakes out.
Referee Keith Peterson is on this one. Better not be any nonsense
while he’s on top of things. Horiguchi offers a glove touch, and Albazi shakes his head and
wants to fight. When the bout begins, he marches forward but pulls
back before engaging. Horiguchi’s open stance and active movement
give him pause, as Horiguchi lands first with a low kick from an
unorthodox angle. The fighter from Japan hurls a one-two over the
top and slams a low kick after. Horiguchi ducks down to avoid a
strike and change levels, where he pushes “The Prince” up against
the links. Knees come from both fighters, and Peterson tells them
they need more than this. Horiguchi decides to break off and find a
new way in. He jumps forward with a knee that he does not raise up,
and he avoids a right hand counter to score with a couple
punches. Albazi bullies the Japanese fighter back, looping a big right hand
at him but getting caught with one as well. Horiguchi slips in a
left hook and a one-two, beating the larger Albazi to the punch and
reddening his nose. Horiguchi pins down a one-two on the beak, and
Albazi waves him on. They both wing hooks at one another, and a big
left hand sends Horiguchi somersaulting backwards. Horiguchi
springs back up, and the power of Albazi has caught him by
surprise. Albazi drops to a knee when going after his man, and he
grabs hold of the body and knees Horiguchi in the chest. Albazi
lets go of the attempt and keeps him pinned against the cage for
some time, until Horiguchi wants to escape and does. Horiguchi
sticks Albazi with a left hand and stutter-steps his way in to
deliver a body kick to the ribs. The round ends with plenty of
feints. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Albazi Dayne Fox scores the round: 10-9 Albazi Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Albazi

Albazi moves right to the center of the cage, darting away from a
big right hand and a kick but getting clipped when charging in.
Albazi jams Horiguchi up against the fence, dropping low for a
double and clasping his hands around the waist. Horiguchi breaks
that grip and frames off with his knee, and he escapes without much
concern. Horiguchi finds his range and scores on Albazi, marking up
the Iraqi athlete with punches including a left hand that opens a
cut on the temple. Horiguchi darts in and out, throwing Albazi
off-balance and blasting him with a right hand that wobbles him.
Albazi backs away quickly to gather his thoughts, and Horiguchi is
on him, cracking him with another left that draws a wobble.
Horiguchi plants a one-two on the chin, and his speed is frazzling
“The Prince.” Albazi tries to stalk down Horiguchi, who is out of range or the
way when Albazi gets to him. Horiguchi keeps his hands moving
constantly to never let Albazi establish a pattern, and his right
and left find their home on the sides of Albazi’s head. Albazi is
taking shots and trying to throw back, but Horiguchi is far more
active and accurate. Albazi reaches with a right, producing a mouse
under Horiguchi’s left eye, and the Japanese fighter pays it no
mind. Horiguchi ducks, dips and dodges to get on the inside, where
he uses a right hand so that he can initiate a tie-up. Albazi
muscles him around, leaning heavily on him and even briefly holding
him from behind, but Horiguchi is able to scoot away and reset.
Horiguchi lashes out with a right hand and a jab, and he spins with
a wheel kick that bangs into the side of Albazi’s head. Albazi
blinks it out and is caught with a front kick to the body, and
Horiguchi sticks him with a right hand at the horn. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Horiguchi Dayne Fox scores the round: 10-9 Horiguchi Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Horiguchi

The very first strike of the last round comes two seconds in, with
"The Karate Kid" clipping Albazi behind the ear. Albazi is quick to
back off, and Horiguchi leaps at him with a flying knee. Albazi
grabs him on the way down and looks to wrestle him, dragging
Horiguchi around the cage from behind when Horiguchi tries to spin
out. Albazi looks to trip out his foe from behind, and Horiguchi
posts off his right arm to stay afloat. Horiguchi leans his face on
the fence to take some weight off his frame, and Albazi slashes
with an elbow on the break. Horiguchi is right on him, striking out
with long jabs that bloody Albazi’s nose further. Horiguchi beats
Albazi to the punch with a right hand, and he is able to break up
Albazi’s attempt as well. Horiguchi connects with a flush left hand
on the temple, and Albazi takes a second before realizing that he
is way more hurt than he realizes. His legs almost give out like a
baby deer, but he is able to get away and avoid a spinning wheel
kick by a matter of inches. Albazi grabs hold of Horiguchi to slow down the assault, but he
cannot keep him there for long as Horiguchi breaks free and plugs
him with a left hand. Albazi stumbles back and trips on the edge of
the wall, regaining his footing and returning to the center of the
Octagon. Horiguchi’s jab is money, messing up Albazi’s timing and
further disrupting his balance. Albazi’s face is rapidly
transforming to that of the Doomguy when taking damage, as it
dissolves to a bloody mess. He pushes the action despite the
wounds, pushing Horiguchi back and popping him with a right hand.
Horiguchi splits out of the clinch to flick out his jab, and he
swipes out a left, a right and a chasing left hand to make Albazi
stumble yet again. A hug is where the flyweight fight ends. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Horiguchi (29-28 Horiguchi) Dayne Fox scores the round: 10-9 Horiguchi (29-28 Horiguchi) Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Horiguchi (29-28
Horiguchi)

Originally unceremoniously dumping the return of former title
challenger Horiguchi (34-5, 1 NC; 7-1 UFC) on the prelims, the UFC
came to its senses and put him on the main card. With his lone
defeat in the Octagon after eight walks against all-time great
Demetrious Johnson, Horiguchi is back at the age of 35 to go on
another run. He will have to contend with surging Dagestani
Ulanbekov (17-2, 6-1 UFC), who has technically never knocked
someone out—his only TKO win came when he made Almabayev tap to
strikes in 2017. What should be a solid flyweight tilt will be
officiated by referee Rich Mitchell. Gloves are touched before the
fists inside of them fly. Horiguchi says hello right out of the gate with a sweeping low
kick. He kicks the Russian who has a wide stance again, staying
well out of range otherwise. Ulanbekov’s response goes wide, and
Horiguchi whiffs with a fireball of a right hand that buzzes the
tower. Ulanbekov digs a kick to the side of his foe, and Horiguchi
releases another hard leg kick. Ulanbekov kicks him back, and he
tries to stumble his way into a takedown shot but Horiguchi is way
out of harm’s way. Horiguchi just misses a huge right, and he walks
through a knee to the body so he can wrest Ulanbekov to his knees.
The Russian pops out of this odd position and back to his feet, and
he stalks the shorter man down. Horiguchi is light on his feet
strafing from side to side, and he bounces his way in and escapes
before Ulanbekov can set up a clinch. Horiguchi works the leg that
is welting fast with another kick. Ulanbekov pushes out with the ball of his foot, and Horiguchi ducks
down to hurl a left hand at his foe. The Dagestan native gets
Horiguchi in his clutches and shoves him to the fence, and he uses
the posture to knee Horiguchi one or twice before sweeping the
former Rizin champ to his seat. Horiguchi stays composed with his
backside on the corner between the floor and the wall, slowly
working his way upright with the fencing at his back. Horiguchi
separates before absorbing much offense, and he darts in with a
left hand that is shy of his intended target. Leg kicks fly from
both flyweights, and Horiguchi rings Ulanbekov’s bell with a solid
right. He lands another and chains it into a jumping switch kick to
the torso. Horiguchi kicks Ulanbekov in the calf and trips, but he
gets back up no worse for wear and lets his hands fly until the
bell sounds. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Horiguchi Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Horiguchi Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Horiguchi

The fighters double clap their hands before engaging. When they
start fighting, Horiguchi blasts the Russian with a right hand and
kicks his leg out with a powerful blow. Ulanbekov falls to his
back, and the American Top Team corner bellows out nearly in unison
for him to Horiguchi to start lashing out with elbows. Ulanbekov
bides his time on his back and sets up a guillotine choke from his
back, and Horiguchi stands up to pull his way out of the choke.
Horiguchi lands strikes from on top to bust up the Russian’s nose,
and Ulanbekov spins to get to his knees. Horiguchi drapes himself
on the back of Ulanbekov’s neck to keep him grounded, and he
threatens with a knee to the face when Ulanbekov pushes off to
stand. This keeps Ulanbekov down so he does not get blasted with no
way to defend himself. Ulanbekov wall-walks to stand up, appearing a bit labored compared
to the Japanese fighter with a spring in his step. Horiguchi lets
go with body shots, including a powerful kick to the ribs, and
Ulanbekov keeps a stiff upper lip but is feeling it now. When
Ulanbekov tries for a level change, Horiguchi stifles it and forces
him to stand back up. Horiguchi fires off a head kick, and he
allows Ulanbekov to try to wrestle him so he can keep him grounded
and work on him. This continues until the round ends. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Horiguchi Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Horiguchi Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Horiguchi

The fighters touch gloves, and it is clear who is in the driver’s
seat at this point. Feeling himself, Horiguchi fires off a kick
that sets up a massive flying left hook. Ulanbekov crumbles to the
mat, and Horiguchi follows him down and continues to bludgeon him
mercilessly. When Ulanbekov scoots his way to the wall, Horiguchi
hammers him with right hands that appear to open a cut on his left
eyebrow. Ulanbekov stands, and Horiguchi backs off and measures a
picturesque head kick as Ulanbekov was planning on changing levels.
Horiguchi follows up with a right hand that puts Ulanbekov down for
the count on his backside. Horiguchi darts down to the ground and
decides that rather than strike, he will remind fans that he has
some submission chops too. He promptly sinks his forearm beneath the Russian’s jaw and cinches
up a rear-naked choke, and Ulanbekov has nothing left to offer in
defense. Horiguchi cranks on it and tells Mitchell that he believes
Ulanbekov went out, but Ulanbekov is still with it…for now. Going
out on his shield, the Eagles MMA fighter does not surrender, and
Mitchell recognizes when Ulanbekov passes out and
intervenes. Medical professionals attend to the
defeated man, who cones to and is crestfallen after suffering his
first stoppage loss. Horiguchi is back and bad to the bone, and he
calls for a title shot against teammate Alexandre Pantoja,
declaring while sporting an ear-to-ear smile, “I will beat your
ass!”

Kyoji Horiguchi

Fight History

Fighter Skills Radar

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Striking Profile

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Grappling Profile

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Conclusions Summary