Amir AlbazivsKyoji Horiguchi

Kyoji Horiguchi is back in the UFC after nearly a decade away, and he's jumping straight into deep water against Amir Albazi. Horiguchi just submitted Tagir Ulanbekov with a rear naked choke back in November, looking sharp as hell in his return. Meanwhile, Albazi is coming off a tough loss to Brandon Moreno in November 2024, dropping a unanimous decision after five hard rounds. That's his first L in the UFC, and you know he's hungry to bounce back. Here's the thing about Horiguchi.

He's not some washed vet looking for one last payday. This dude went to war with Demetrious Johnson for the flyweight title back in 2015, getting caught in an armbar with one second left in the fight. Since then, he's been tearing it up in Japan, and that recent finish of Ulanbekov showed he's still got it. Albazi has been on a tear too, with that slick rear naked choke of Francisco Figueiredo in 2022 and a split decision win over Kai Kara-France in 2023. Both guys are orthodox strikers who can grapple, but Horiguchi's volume striking is nasty.

He landed 115 strikes against Ali Bagautinov and 83 against Neil Seery, just overwhelming dudes with output. Albazi's more patient, looking for that perfect moment to snatch your neck or land something heavy. The Moreno fight showed he can hang in five round wars, even if the judges didn't see it his way.