Kyoji Horiguchi relinquishes Bellator bantamweight title due to knee injury

Kyoji Horiguchi no longer is a Bellator champion.

The Japanese fighter has relinquished his Bellator bantamweight title after suffering an injury that will require surgery and will keep him away from competition for the foreseeable future. Bellator announced the news Wednesday.

Horiguchi (28-3) also vacated his Rizin bantamweight title earlier this month for the same reason. According to Rizin officials, Horiguchi is expected to be out for 10 months.

“I feel terrible for Kyoji about the injury he suffered to his knee, but in the true spirit of martial arts and being a true champion, he has elected to vacate his title and allow the division to move forward in his absence,” Bellator president Scott Coker stated. “After fully healing, we plan to give Kyoji an immediate title shot.”

The 29-year-old Horiguchi won the Bellator 135-pound title in June with a win over Darrion Caldwell at Bellator 222. He also picked up the Rizin belt by defeating Caldwell in December 2018. Horiguchi didn’t defend either title. The only two bouts he was in after becoming champ were non-title fights.