Kyoji Horiguchi snapped his two-fight win streak when he came out on top of his contest with Yuto Hokamura.
This past Sunday, former Bellator and Rizin bantamweight champ Horiguchi marked his return to action against Hokamura in the main event of RIZIN 38 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Coming off two consecutive losses to Patrick Mix and Sergio Pettis in Bellator, Horiguchi went into the bout looking to get back to winning ways in his first bout under the Rizin FF banner since December 2020.
Kyoji Horiguchi snapped his two-fight win streak with a submission win over Yuto Hokamura
Hokamura got off to a fiery start, scoring an early knockdown in the first round. Horiguchi fought through the difficulty and managed to pull off an incredible comeback victory in the second round. He took the fight to the ground and secured an arm-triangle choke to earn the submission finish. It marked the third straight loss for Hokamura, who has now dropped four of his last five outings with a sole win coming over Kuya Ito.
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/#超RIZIN #RIZIN38
帰ってきた堀口恭司🙌🙌🙌
\金太郎を肩固めで、沈める!💥
🎟 全試合アーカイブ視聴可能!PPV購入はこちらからhttps://t.co/8Nv7IgaGzN pic.twitter.com/7Jo8ap8tdx
— RIZIN FF OFFICIAL (@rizin_PR) September 25, 2022
Nonstop action in Round 1!
『SBC presents RIZIN.38』
🎟PPV🔻https://t.co/aGDCI0iifF pic.twitter.com/knI3KL07md— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) September 25, 2022
Horiguchi had hit a skid in his professional career that saw him endure a tough last year and a half. He was on the wrong end of the 2021 Knockout of the Year against Sergio Pettis at Bellator 272. Horiguchi further got knocked out of the Bellator bantamweight grand Prix and lost out on the million-dollar prize when Mix defeated him in April.
If his recent bout is any indication, it looks like Horiguchi has made the right adjustments in his time off. He may look forward to getting back to the elite competition ahead.