Since parting ways with the UFC after 2016, Kyoji Horiguchi has enjoyed continued success in MMA.
He went on to hold the Bellator and RIZIN bantamweight championships simultaneously until getting injured, and he is now the current (and inaugural) RIZIN flyweight champion.
With his ongoing triumphs outside of the Octagon, and given his success during his tenure with the UFC, some have wondered if Horiguchi would ever be given another shot at competing in the UFC. That question became more prominent when the fighter himself expressed interest in an Octagon comeback.
If one were to ask Horiguchi now, however, that day will never come.
In the latest episode of RIZIN Confessions, Horiguchi said he’s heard the UFC has no interest in signing him. He also called the promotion out for being focused on profits more than fighters, including a lack of promotion for the UFC’s flyweight division.
Kyoji Horiguchi Says ‘Big Shot’ UFC Has No Interest In Signing Him
[Everyone at American Top Team is] like ‘Why can’t you get signed?'” Horiguchi said. “It’s a big mystery. ‘What? They don’t want Kyoji?’ They’re like, ‘That’s insane…if they don’t want you, I don’t know what else to do.’
They went public and now they’re big shots. They are prioritizing profit is what I think. Like, their fight purses are very low. There are only a limited amount of guys who can live off of it. They’re not putting in the efforts for the flyweight division.
The UFC and the flyweight division have had a tumultuous history since Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson was crowned the first champion at UFC 152 in September 2012.
After Johnson was finally dethroned by Henry Cejudo at UFC 227 in August 2018 and traded to ONE Championship, there were rumors that the UFC was looking to close the flyweight division.
Horiguchi competed in the Octagon eight times between late 2013 and late 2016, going 7-1. His sole loss came against Johnson, challenging for the flyweight title at UFC 186 and getting submitted with just one second remaining in the fight.
Endeavor, the UFC’s parent company since 2016, became a publicly traded company in 2021 and was merged with WWE to form TKO in 2023.
Horiguchi will face former Bellator bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis at RIZIN 47 on June 9. This will be a rematch of their Bellator bantamweight title fight from Bellator 272, which saw Pettis pull off a comeback with a spinning-backfist knockout in the fourth round to retain the title.
