Kyoji Horiguchi surprisingly left the UFC in 2016 despite holding a 7-1 record there, but it seems he’s now interesting in returning to the Octagon in the year to come.
“It was my decision [to leave the UFC], I made this decision, so I have no regrets,” Horiguchi told MMA Fighting [translated]. “But I do have the feeling of wanting to making another challenge in the UFC.”
Horiguchi already held an 11-1 record when he first joined the UFC back in 2013 and he consistently impressed during his time in the promotion, with his only loss being a last second armbar submission defeat in a title fight with Demetrious Johnson in 2015.
After deciding to move on to pastures new in 2016, Horiguchi went on to become a star in the Rizin promotion, winning their 2017 bantamweight grand-prix, and becoming a two-time bantamweight champion, as well as also winning Bellator’s bantamweight title as well at one stage.
While he no longer holds either title, he is currently Rizin’s inaugural flyweight champion and will be defending his title at the promotion’s new year’s eve event in Saitama, Japan.
If Horiguchi did return to the UFC then he would almost certainly find himself on a collision course with his teammate and current flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja, but he doesn’t see that as a big issue.
“We kind of talk about it in the gym,” Horiguchi said. “We joke around and I tell them that I can beat you up anytime, I’ll beat you up and stuff like that. You know, we kind of joke around. But you know, if it’s a title fight, I think the gym would have to accept it. It is what it is and it’s what we do. If it happens, I think we could make it happen.”
