Kyoji Horiguchi is 11-0 Post DJ/8-0 Post UFC

[GueseGuy]

Yet another example why people bashing DJ's competition level have no idea what the fuck they're talking about.

They have no clue. MM has beaten a murderers row of top guys. The only reason they seem less than what they are is because MM has been dominant for so long. If he wasn’t there it would be an open division like 135/145. There’s no way 135 is “stacked” and 125 is “weak.” MM’s dominance just makes it seem that way. Joe B is a freaking monster and ppl pass him off like a scrub. It’s crazy.

 

[electricfuneral]

I think Kyoji stands up even easier if he has the cage to wall walk on. Also, I assume it would be five rounds in Bellator and I think that favors Kyoji.

Maybe you are right. I’m excited to see the rematch.

 

[JBJISGOAT]

Nobody wants to see these manlets fight. That’s why DJ is in Japan and no longer fighting in the UFC.

 

[basedworld]

he lost to tenshin like 6 months ago

 

[beefcake180]

he lost to tenshin like 6 months ago

Kickboxing match

 

[SalvadorAllende]

The Gooch is the real deal. He was competitive with Tenshin too for what it’s worth. I felt his fight the other night was strange. Not rigged or anything, but just weird.

I’m looking forward to his rematch with Caldwell in Bellator. I think he may have submitted him in the first round had Horoguchi not gotten tangled in the ropes.


Caldwell just looked off out there. I don’t know what happened. He got tired almost immediately and ended up running to the locker room as soon as the fight ended. That and, at least according to Trigg, the choke didn’t appear to be threatening prior to the tap.


I may be overthinking it. Totally possible Caldwell just didn’t give his body time to adjust to fighting/being in Japan.

Caldwell got tapped by Taimanglo with a guillotine choke... he has a long ass neck to look up for. I think he got overconfident and got caught. Also seem he was totally unconfortable fighting in a ring.

 

[SalvadorAllende]

What is his biggest win in the UFC?

I suppose is Ali Bagautinov who was top 5... but he has beat everybody they put in front of him except MM.

I think he beats the shit out of Benavidez for example.

 

[kfighter]

Didnt Kyoji pop once? Maybe im thining of ali bagautimov

Asians don't pop for steroids.

 

[kfighter]

the caldwell fight looked fix.

also horiguchi would get KO by USADA

Sure thing... Whiteboy

 

[europe1]

And that is why the current UFC is a joke. Wtf happened to the best fighters in the world fought there? They’re letting guys walk that are world class fighters. This guy could be a legit threat at 135 even. It just doesn’t make sense. Why are we even watching this shit? To see “marketable” fighters or the most skilled? It just boggles my mind.

Having to pay off a 4 billion dollars buy-out does that to organizations. It makes them think solely about short-term money-making. Which has the long-term downsides of them thinking less about quality and talent.

 

[loyalyolayal]

Asians don't pop for steroids.

 

[snackgod]

Not only that but he just beat Darrion Caldwell, who is Bellators Bantamweight champion and Dominick Cruz's team mate. Caldwell is a HUGE 135 and even has fought at 145 and Horiguchi tapped him out.

Why did they not resign him? The division was so sparse and they cut one of the best guys. He can obviously be successful at 135 as well.

cause rizin paid him a shit ton of money.

 

[Danespina]

Kyoji isn't just talented, but also exciting as hell.

 

[Bobby Boulders]

Kyoji Horiguchi is one of the best fighters in the world.

 

[Bobby Boulders]

Flying to the US from japan and then having to fight must be miserable.

I think it was easier for him bc he already trained at ATT. Idk the specifics of how he worked it out, but if he was already in the US for 8 weeks or so it explains his success.

 

[Danespina]

Never seen that before. Awesome.

 

[Bobby Boulders]

I doubt the UFC is seriously interested in him.

Of course they are. The UFC still goes to Tokyo every year or two, and, aside from Tenshin, Horiguchi is the biggest Japanese star. The gap between those two and the rest is pretty big at this point (RENA was there with them until her back to back losses, probably still has some drawing power, but definitely not like she did before). That said, JMMA fandom is down as a whole and the UFC is still going into Japan, of course they're interested in having Japanese stars that will draw for them, even if they're in lighter weight classes. Horiguchi simply wanted to fight in Japan and signed with RIZIN bc he wanted to. Had nothing to do with the UFC not wanting him.

This will forever be a problem for the UFC in certain markets, as an entity that promotes shows worldwide. You have to have a pay balance. If you're only holding a show in a certain market every year or 2 or 3, are you going to pay that star from that market mega dollars for one fight out of four on their contract? No. So they will lose out on stars who can simply go home and sign with their country's premier org and make way more money fighting in their home country every time. A ton of Polish/KSW fighters already refuse to sign with the UFC bc they make a ton more in KSW. Would have to think this happens often with Japanese/Korean/Russian fighters as well. At thus point, the regional circuit doesn't have a ton of premier promotions, outside if KSW, ROAD, RIZIN, FNG, EFC, Combate, BRAVE, whatever ACB is now. But the fighters who are from the general local areas are going to make substantially more fighting for those promotions, even if they're getting paid less money. That sounds wrong, but factor in the logistics of paying for your team/corner/coach to travel to wherever you're fighting in the UFC, shit like that, coupled with the UFCs notoriously low paying contracts when initially signing with them, and it makes more sense to stay at home and fight locally, where you're not paying to travel at all, you just wake up at home and meet your corner at the arena, and you matter more to the local org bc the fanbase there knows you and cares bc you're a local. It makes more sense, money wise.

Horiguchi has always been a top talent, now he is a national star, simply bc he's smart. Also makes more money, and has more avenues to do it (can fight in other combat sports against stars like Tenshin, isn't relegated to Reebok money and can have sponsors from all kinds of crazy Japanese entities, etc.)

 

[Bobby Boulders]

Never seen that before. Awesome.

Kid knew... That was in 2011. What a fucking prophet.

 

[Bobby Boulders]

He's good too bad he fights in an irrelevant division
View attachment 498665

He fights at bantamweight, bud.

 

[Bobby Boulders]

And that is why the current UFC is a joke. Wtf happened to the best fighters in the world fought there? They’re letting guys walk that are world class fighters. This guy could be a legit threat at 135 even. It just doesn’t make sense. Why are we even watching this shit? To see “marketable” fighters or the most skilled? It just boggles my mind.

The UFC has to let some of them walk. They're being investigated by the US Gov. These antitrust lawsuits are for real, and can be damaging to an organization.

I was reading about the old USFL (don't ask how or why, I'm not even sure). They actually won an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL in the 80's, and if they hadn't shot themselves in the foot they would have brought about changes that would have meant the current NFL as we know it would probably have never existed. While they won the suit, the damages paid were one dollar x3 (any damages in an antitrust suit are multiplied by three) bc it was known that the ultimate goal of the owners of the USFL teams was to force a merger with the NFL, which would double the return on the worth of their teams. It would have forced the NFL to split back into two leagues, as they were before the merger of the original NFL and the AFL (NFC and AFC are actually two separate leagues) and the USFL were hoping to merge their teams with both new existing leagues, if not all of them with the by then very popular NFL brand. So, if they had kept their secrets more secure and less out in the open, the landscape of American football would be much, much different today.

That said, the UFC HAS to let these guys walk. They have to do pros and cons and decide which guys are better suited to keep long term and let the rest walk away, bc if they house 99% of the top talent they're going to get it all taken away from them anyway, one way or another, plus, potentially, assets, TV contracts, Las Vegas lockdown, etc. They absolutely need their competition to live or die by their own swords, and not bc they're making it impossible for anyone else to sign top talent, similar to football and the XFL in the early 2000's, which did get some good ratings at the start of its lone season and ended up failing bc the product sucked and ratings plummeted quickly. The NFL allowed the XFL to exist, to sign a major TV contract for primetime games with NBC, sign a few decent players, etc., Vince just focused on dumb fuck shit like cheerleaders and WWE storylines that football fans don't really care about.

XFL is actually returning next year, along with the Alliance of American Football this year, and the NFL just has to hope that these leagues suck and go under quickly. That is the same game the UFC has to play at this point. They can't force Bellator out if business, they have to let Bellator hang themselves. If there us no major competition, they can sign anyone they want and nothing can be done about it.