Kyoji Horiguchi Taps Out Tagir Ulanbekov in Epic Octagon Return – UFC Qatar Highlights
Kyoji Horiguchi’s long-awaited return to the Octagon at UFC Qatar was a smashing success.
With a significant size advantage over the former RIZIN champion, Ulanbekov succeeded in taking Horiguchi down in the opening round and took him off his feet late in the first with a stinging calf kick. However, Horiguchi connected with a big right hand as the final second ticked off the clock.
Horiguchi seemingly carried that momentum into the second, taking Ulanbekov off his feet with his own leg kick. That allowed Horiguchi to jump into Ulanbekov’s guard. As Horiguchi looked to maintain control on the mat, Ulanbekov cinched in a guillotine choke, though he couldn’t quite get the grip, allowing Horiguchi to fight his way out.
With Ulanbekov already showing signs of fatigue, Horiguchi started to take over in the latter half of the stanza, landing kicks and imposing his will against the Dagestani standout. Horiguchi closed the round in top control, notching three and a half minutes of control time during the five-minute period.
Likely smelling blood in the water, Horiguchi came out and immediately planted Ulanbekov on the mat with a leaping left hook. With Ulanbekov busted on and his back on the mat, Horiguchi was firmly in the driver’s seat with more than four minutes to go.
Ulanbekov muscled his way back up, but was immediately met with a thudding head kick that put him down once again. Horiguchi refused to let him off the hook this time, taking Ulanbekov’s back and locking in a rear-naked choke. Moments later, that was all she wrote.
Official Result: Kyoji Horiguchi def. Tagir Ulanbekov via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:18 of Round 3.
