Kyoji Horiguchi Should Enter Top 10 With Victory At UFC 182
By Dan Dudley
@DanDudleyJr
Andrew Richardson-USA TODAY Sports
Kyoji Horiguchi is one of the UFC‘s most exciting up and coming prospects.
He was the former Shooto bantamweight champion and is now looking to soon add a UFC championship to this list. He has a black belt in karate, which provides him with a unique movement and high level of anticipation and reaction. Horiguchi is currently the No. 11-ranked UFC flyweight. With a victory over Louis Gaudinot, he thoroughly deserves to enter the top 10 and to be handed the opportunity to fight a bigger named opponent in a co-main or main event.
His unique karate style and solid but swift hand movements has resulted in him putting together an MMA record of 14 wins and only one loss. His one loss was a majority decision. However, his 14 victories consist of one via submission, four via decision and an outstanding nine by way of knockout.
He’s unbeaten inside the UFC with three straight victories and holds notable wins over Ian Loveland, Shintaro Ishiwatari, Dustin Pague, Darrell Montague and, most recently, a round one TKO victory over Jon Delos Reyes.
Gaudinot will now be his toughest challenger to date, but one in which he has the tools to prevail, and to do so comfortably. His movement could prove a problem for his opponent and his hand speed and power, used at the right time, could well be enough to put Gaudinot asleep.
With a convincing win, Horiguchi may become a name we hear more of in 2015. With bigger named opponents looming and potential title shots in a couple more wins, Horiguchi is a name to look out for in the nearby future.
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