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born October 12, 1990 is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He most recently competed in Rizin FF in the Flyweight division, where he was a former RIZIN Flyweight Champion and former RIZIN Bantamweight Championship. He is also a former Bellator Bantamweight World Champion.
A professional competitor since 2010, Horiguchi competed from 2013 to 2016 in his first stint with the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he was a UFC Flyweight Championship challenger. He also competed in Shooto, where he was the Bantamweight Champion. He graduated from Sakushin Gakuin High School in Utsunomiya, Tochigi, Japan.
His biggest victory up to that time would come over the 2009 Rookie Tournament runner-up, Yuta Nezu. Horiguchi's knockout power was on display early, knocking out Nezu in the first round. His nickname is The Typhoon.
Horiguchi took on the former Shooto Bantamweight Champion, Masakatsu Ueda on January 8, 2012. Ueda controlled most of the bout with his superior grappling, nearly submitting Horiguchi numerous times. He lost by a majority decision.
Horiguchi captured the Shooto Bantamweight Championship on March 16, 2013, when he defeated Hiromasa Ougikubo submitting him in the second round by rear-naked choke.
On June 22, Horiguchi fought Pancrase Bantamweight Champion, Shintaro Ishiwatari, at VTJ 2nd, where Horiguchi acted as a Shooto representative. The two engaged in a competitive, back and forth fight. Many outlets had Ishiwatari leading on the scorecards heading into the final round. Horiguchi rallied early in the fifth round, landing a barrage of punches on Ishiwatari to force the stoppage and defend his title.
Horiguchi was expected to face Chris Cariaso in a Flyweight bout on February 1, 2014, at UFC 169. However, Horiguchi pulled out of the bout citing injury and was replaced by WEC veteran Danny Martinez.
Horiguchi faced Darrell Montague on May 10, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 40. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
A rescheduled bout with Chris Cariaso was expected to take place on September 20, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 52. However, Cariaso was pulled from the bout with Horiguchi in favor of a matchup with current flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson at UFC 178. Horiguchi instead faced Jon Delos Reyes. He won the fight via TKO in the first round.
Horoguchi faced Louis Gaudinot on January 3, 2015, at UFC 182. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
Horiguchi faced Flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson on April 25, 2015, in the main event at UFC 186. Despite doing well during the first round, Horiguchi lost the otherwise one-sided fight via an armbar submission at 4:59 of the fifth round, resulting in the latest finish in UFC history.
Horiguchi faced Chico Camus at UFC Fight Night 75 on September 27, 2015. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
Horiguchi next faced Neil Seery on May 8, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 87. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Horiguchi was expected to face Ali Bagautinov on October 15, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 97. However, the promotion announced on October 6 that they had cancelled the event entirely. In turn, the pairing was quickly rescheduled and took place on November 19, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 99. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
It was announced on February 17, 2017, that Horiguchi chose not to renew his contract with the UFC.
On April 16, 2017, Horiguchi made his debut in Rizin Fighting Federation, where he defeated Yuki Motoya by unanimous decision.
Horiguichi next faced Hideo Tokoro in the first round of the Rizin Bantamweight Grand Prix on July 30, 2017, at Rizin 6. He won the fight via knockout in the first round.
Horiguchi competed in the rest of the Bantamweight Grand Prix in December 2017, fighting three times over two days. In the quarter-finals, he faced Gabriel Oliviera on December 29, 2017, at . He won the fight via TKO in the first round. He advanced to the next round, which was held on December 31, 2017, at . He faced Manel Kape in the semi-finals and won via arm-triangle choke submission in the third round. In the final, he faced Shintaro Ishiwatari and won via knockout early into the second round to become the inaugural RIZIN Bantamweight Champion.
Horiguchi faced fellow UFC veteran Ian McCall in the main event at Rizin 10 on May 6, 2018. He defeated McCall just 9 seconds into the first round via KO. This was the second fastest stoppage in Rizin history.
After a 9-second knockout victory, Horiguchi made a quick turnaround to face fellow Japanese champion Hiromasa Ougikubo in a long-awaited rematch. Ogikubo, the current Shooto bantamweight champion, had not lost since he last faced Horiguchi in 2013. Horiguchi won the bout via unanimous decision.
On September 30, 2018, Horiguchi fought Japanese Kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa at Rizin 13 under Rizin Kickboxing rules, and lost by unanimous decision.
Horiguchi faced the reigning Bellator Bantamweight champion Darrion Caldwell for the vacant Rizin Bantamweight Championship at Rizin 14 on December 31, 2018. He won the fight by submission via a guillotine choke.
Horiguchi next faced Ben Nguyen in a 132 pound catchweight bout on April 21, 2019, at Rizin 15. He won the fight via TKO in the first round.
Horiguchi headlined Rizin 18 on August 18, 2019, against Kai Asakura in a non-title bout. He lost the fight via technical knockout in the first round.
Horiguchi was expected to defend his Rizin FF Bantamweight Championship title against Kai Asakura in a rematch at Rizin 20 on December 31, 2019. However, Horiguchi pulled out of the fight in mid-November citing a knee injury that is expected to keep him out of action for approximately 10 – 12 months. In turn, his bantamweight title has been vacated.
After undergoing a successful knee surgery, Horiguchi is set to make his return to mixed martial arts, following a 15 month hiatus from the sport. He rematched Kai Asakura during Rizin 26 – Saitama. Going into the rematch with Asakura, Horiguchi said it was his goal to dispel any rumors about ACL injuries finishing an athlete's career. Horiguchi said he is also feeling almost completely healed leading into the fight. “I’m about 100% recovered. I had to start from zero after the surgery and built back the muscles that have gotten weak. But the hard work and long rehab has paid off and I am back.” Horiguchi won the fight by a first-round TKO.
In September 2021, Horiguchi was announced to be a Bellator MMA contracted fighter, however due to longstanding relationship between Bellator and Rizin, Horiguchi will remain the Rizin Bantamweight Champion, and the plan, once COVID travel restrictions ease, is for him to still fight in Japan on occasion.
Horiguchi competed for the Bellator Bantamweight World Championship against champion Sergio Pettis on December 3, 2021, at Bellator 272. Despite having controlled most of the bout beforehand, Horiguchi lost the fight via knockout in round four.
In the first round bout of the $1 million Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix Tournament, Horiguchi faced Patchy Mix on April 23, 2022, at Bellator 279. He lost the bout via unanimous decision.
Moving down to Flyweight, Horiguchi faced Hiromasa Ougikubo at Bellator MMA vs. Rizin on December 31, 2022. Vacating the RIZIN Bantamweight Championship before the bout as he intends to fight at flyweight going into the future, Horiguchi dominated Ougikubo in his return to flyweight after 5 years on the way to a unanimous decision victory.
Horiguchi was scheduled to face Ray Borg on April 22, 2023, at Bellator 295. However, the day of the weigh-ins, due to weight-management complications for Borg, the bout was scrapped.
Horiguchi next competed for the inaugural Bellator Flyweight World Championship at Bellator MMA x Rizin 2 on July 30, 2023, in Saitama, Japan where he faced Makoto "Shinryu" Takahashi. The bout was declared a no contest after Horiguchi accidentally poked Takahashi in the eye which prevented him from continuing.
Horiguchi rematched Makoto Takahashi at Rizin 45, on December 31, 2023, this time for the inaugural Rizin Flyweight World Championship, and won the bout via rear-naked choke in the second round.
Horiguchi faced Sergio Pettis in a rematch at Bantamweight on June 9, 2024 at RIZIN 47. Horiguchi won the fight via unanimous decision.
Horiguchi made his first defense of the Rizin Flyweight World Championship against Nkazimulo Zulu on December 31, 2024, at Rizin 49. He won the bout via unanimous decision.
On March 30, 2025, Horiguchi announced that he had vacated the Rizin Flyweight World Championship and that he would be returning to the UFC.
Horiguchi was scheduled to have his first bout in the UFC since November 2016 against Tagir Ulanbekov on June 21, 2025 at UFC on ABC 8. However, Horiguchi withdrew from the bout for unknown reasons and was replaced by Azat Maksum.
| 0 wins (0 KOs), 1 losses | |||||||||
| Loss | 0–1 | Tenshin Nasukawa | Decision (unanimous) | Rizin 13 | 3 | 3:00 | Saitama, Japan | ||
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