Kyoji Horiguchi has been added to the Bellator roster.
Horiguchi currently reigns as the Rizin Bantamweight Champion. He also had a run with the Bellator Bantamweight Title along the way but was his time with the promotion was part of a cross-promotion partnership. He was forced to relinquish the belt due to an injury.
Bellator President Scott Coker has announced that Horiguchi is now on his promotion’s roster.
“We have signed former Bellator MMA Bantamweight World Champion Kyoji Horiguchi and I can’t wait to see him compete in our stacked bantamweight division.”
In a statement, Horiguchi said entering Japan has proven to be difficult due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, he’s decided to sign with Bellator. Horiguchi trains in the United States under American Top Team.
“As I was forced to make a new decision, I consulted with RIZIN President Sakakibara and Scott Coker, the representative of Bellator, and decided to participate in Bellator here in the United States.”
Horiguchi has a pro MMA record of 29-3. In his most recent bout back in Dec. 2020, he avenged a loss against Kai Asakura. Horiguchi won the rematch via first-round TKO to capture the Rizin Bantamweight Championship a second time.
Rizin issued the following statement on Horiguchi’s Bellator signing.
“We have agreed to have Kyoji Horiguchi, the current RIZIN bantamweight champion, participate in Bellator on a regular basis.”
Time will tell what’s next for Horiguchi but some have already called for a title shot. The current champion is Sergio Pettis.
