Returning Kyoji Horiguchi Out of UFC Baku, Kazakh Killer Steps in to Fight Tagir Ulanbekov
And just like that, Kyoji Horiguchi’s UFC comeback is no more.
The former Bellator and RIZIN champion was scheduled to make his long-awaited return to the Octagon at UFC Baku on June 21 in Azerbaijan. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. According to a report from Red Corner MMA, Horiguchi was forced to bow out of the bout due to injury. He was expected to fight Dagestani standout Tagir Ulanbekov.
Stepping in for Horiguchi at Baku Crystal Hall will be Azmat Maksum, a 15-1 fighter out of Kazakhstan with two appearances under the UFC banner thus far.
Maksum earned a split-decision victory over Tyson Nam in his promotional debut in 2023, but came up short the following year against Charles Johnson.
Kyoji Horiguchi determined to add UFC gold to his resume after dominating around the world
After putting together an impressive 7-1 run inside the Octagon between 2013 and 2016, Horiguchi opted not to re-sign with the promotion once his contract expired. Instead, he signed on the dotted line with RIZIN FF. During his seven-year run in Japan, Horiguchi went 14-1, capturing the RIZIN flyweight championship.
During that run, he defeated Darion Caldwell to capture the Bellator bantamweight title.
In RIZIN, Horiguchi defeated the likes of Manel Kape, Ian McCall, Kai Asakura, Makato Takahashi, and Sergio Pettis.
Having already accomplished so much, Horiguchi has his sights on the one world title that’s evaded him thus far — the UFC flyweight championship. The belt that his friend and teammate, Alexandre Pantoja, just so happens to hold.
“I wanted to go back to the UFC always. Every time, I was thinking about that.” Horiguchi told MMA Junkie in April. “I need to get the belt. But my friend has a belt. It’s going to be a good fight. Yeah (we’re) fighters and friends. Friends can make good money. It’s going to be good. If we decide to fight, maybe (we train) in separate rooms with a little bit more specific training.”
