HONOLULU – Kyoji Horiguchi wants flyweight as his permanent home in Bellator.
Bellator doesn’t currently have a men’s flyweight division, but Horiguchi (31-5 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) will face Ray Borg (16-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in a 125-pound bout in Saturday’s Bellator 295 event at Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.
Horiguchi returned to flyweight for the first time since 2017 when he defeated Hiromasa Ougikubo for a third time at the Rizin FF vs. Bellator event this past December in Japan. A former Bellator bantamweight champion and former UFC flyweight title challenger, Horiguchi wants to stay at 125 pounds, and hopes his fight with Borg can kickstart the launch of a new division.
“That sounds good,” Horiguchi told reporters including MMA Junkie at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday. “I want to fight in Bellator at flyweight, so I hope they open up this division.”
Horiguchi meets fellow former UFC flyweight title challenger Borg, who also has a wealth of experience against top-level competition. Horiguchi rates Borg’s skills highly, but sees himself as the more complete fighter.
“He has a good wrestling and boxing style,” Horiguchi said. “I do everything, so I will show up for an MMA fight… I can do MMA, he just has boxing and wrestling. I think everything, I’m better.”
Although almost half of his career finishes have come by knockout, Horiguchi will be content with any kind of stoppage win against Borg.
“Of course, I want to finish him,” Horiguchi said. “It doesn’t matter, submission or KO, but I will finish him.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 295.
Kyoji Horiguchi hopes Bellator launches men’s flyweight division