Kyoji Horiguchi showed why he’s the frontrunner to win the Rizin FF bantamweight grand prix tournament when he (literally) punched his ticket to the semifinal round with a first-round TKO of Gabriel Oliveira at Rizin FF 8. Despite the former UFC flyweight title challenger being at a noticeable size disadvantage, Horiguchi’s (21-2) slick striking more than made up for it. He dropped Oliveira (10-1) three times in the fight before the referee stepped in to halt the online-streamed pay-per-view headliner at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Horiguchi was by far the biggest star of the night at Rizin FF 8, which featured an announced attendance of 15,539. He walked to the ring to a significant applause from the audience, and his performance lived up to the excitement. Horiguchi found his range early in the bout, and from there, Oliveira had no chance
BAD MMA Trending Cloud
UFC • Bellator • Conor Mcgregor • news • PFL • Jon Jones • ta block • Daniel Cormier • Dustin Poirier • Khabib Nurmagomedov • AXS TV Fights • videos • Francis Ngannou • WSOF • Jorge Masvidal • Anderson Silva • Nate Diaz • Ronda Rousey • Amanda Nunes • Dana White • Max Holloway • Donald Cerrone • ufc news • Tony Ferguson • Michael Bisping • Kamaru Usman • Demetrious Johnson • Alexander Volkanovski • Henry Cejudo • Michael Chandler • Charles Oliveira • One Championship • Aljamain Sterling • Jose Aldo • Tyron Woodley • Derrick Lewis • Georges St Pierre • Holly Holm • featured • Stipe Miocic
- MMA News (105025)
- Paddy Pimblett responds to Bobby Green and Renato Moicano callouts
- UFC 301: How to watch Rio de Janeiro fight card, lineup, odds, preview videos, more
- Matchup Roundup: New UFC, PFL, Bellator fights announced in the past week (April 22-28)
- Paul Hughes vs. Bobby King co-headlines Bellator Champions Series: Dublin
- Spinning Back Clique LIVE (noon ET): Conor McGregor buys BKFC, UFC 301 preview, Alex Perez’s KO, more
- Ketlen Souza unwilling to take breaks after scoring first octagon win at UFC on ESPN 55
- Karine Silva will keep ‘unreachable’ callout secret for one more fight after UFC on ESPN 55
- Karine Silva will keep ‘unreachable’ callout secret for one more fight after UFC on ESPN 55
- UFC on ESPN 55 winner Maheshate felt ‘extra burden’ after consecutive losses
- Charly Arnolt details historic impromptu UFC cage announcer role: ‘I was scared of messing up’