Kyoji Horiguchi knows he’s entering a situation with limited upside at the Bellator vs. Rizin event on New Year’s Eve.
Horiguchi (30-5), who is a former bantamweight champion under both the Bellator and Rizin banners, will meet Hiromasa Ougikubo (25-6-2) on the main card of the Dec. 31 card, which takes place at Saitama Super Arena in Japan and airs via tape-delay on Showtime.
Ougikubo is a familiar foe to Horiguchi, as they’ve met twice before. Horiguchi won the initial encounter by second-round submission under the Shooto banner in March 2013, then won the rematch more than five years later with a unanimous decision triumph at Rizin FF 11 in July 2018.
