RIZIN bantamweight champion Kyoji Horiguchi has re-joined Bellator and decided to sign with the promotion.
Bellator President Scott Coker was the first to make the announcement of Horiguchi's signing official via the following tweet. RIZIN CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara also released a statement on the news, explaining that Horguchi's signing doesn't mean he's done competing for the Japanese based promotion but gives him the chance to stay active while representing the RIZIN brand in Bellator, amidst the current COVID situation and travel restrictions.
We have signed former @BellatorMMA Bantamweight World Champion @Kyoji1012 Horiguchi and I can’t wait to see him compete in our stacked bantamweight division. pic.twitter.com/m2YKHJf2J0
— Scott Coker (@ScottCoker) September 10, 2021
The 30-year old Japanese star is a former Bellator bantamweight champion, winning the title back at Bellator 222 in June 2019 from Darrion Caldwell via a unanimous decision. He never lost the belt either, having to vacate the title in November 2019 after suffering a torn ACL. Horiguchi's last appearance came at RIZIN 26 on New Year's Eve 2020 where he defeated Kai Asakura via a first-round TKO in their rematch for the RIZIN bantamweight title.
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