Horiguchi Avenges Loss to Pettis, Koike Quickly Submits Archuleta at Rizin 47

⚔️HORIGUCHI GETS REVENGE!

He defeats Sergio Pettis by UD!

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Rizin Fighting Federation flyweight champion Kyoji Horiguchi avenged his 2021 Bellator MMA loss to Sergio Pettis with a clear-cut unanimous decision victory on Sunday at Rizin 47 in Tokyo, Japan. Horiguchi controlled the first two rounds of the bantamweight main event and overcame a knockdown in the final round to take the well-deserved win in an entertaining fight.

Horiguchi (33-5, 1 NC, 14-1 Rizin), who suffered a fourth-round knockout loss to Pettis (23-7, 0-1 Rizin) in their first meeting at Bellator 272, fought wisely in the rematch and frustrated Pettis with jabs and leg kicks before taking him down in the opening round. The middle stanza began with a takedown from Horiguchi and he kept Pettis down against a corner post for more than four minutes while remaining active with strikes from the top.

Pettis rallied in Round 3 when he dropped Horiguchi with a counter left uppercut. Horiguchi recovered and escaped from a brabo choke, and he pressed the action on the feet during the final two minutes as Pettis looked for a knockout and missed with spinning kick attempts. All three judges scored the fight for Horiguchi, who is unbeaten in his past five fights.

It remains to be seen whether Horiguchi’s next fight will be at flyweight or bantamweight, but the 33-year-old has recently expressed frustration with his inability to get back into the UFC, where he posted a 7-1 record between October 2013 and November 2016.

KLEBER KOIKE ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

He gets the tap in round 1!

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The featherweight co-main event ended quickly when former Rizin champ Kleber Koike Erbst (33-7-1, 1 NC, 8-2, 1 NC Rizin) tapped out Juan Archuleta (29-6, 3-2 Rizin) with a nasty inverted heel hook. Koike countered early punches from Archuleta with leg kicks until Archuleta strangely decided to take Koike down. That was a clear mistake, and Koike wasted no time in rolling for a kneebar before switching to an inverted heel hook that elicited a tap from Archuleta at the 2:25 mark of Round 1.

Koike then campaigned for a title shot and engaged in a staredown with Rizin featherweight champion Chihiro Suzuki. Koike submitted Suzuki at Rizin 43 in June 2023, but that bout was ruled a no contest due to Koike’s failure to make weight. Koike intends to wait for a championship rematch later this year after Suzuki has first boxed against Manny Pacquiao at Super Rizin 3 next month.

Przemysław Kowalczyk with the ARMBAR!

🇵🇱Polish power has arrived in Japan!

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Undefeated Polish heavyweight Przemyslaw Kowalczyk (4-0, 1-0 Rizin) made a strong statement in his Rizin debut when he easily defeated Mikio Ueda (3-2, 2-2 Rizin), who was riding a three-fight winning streak with all victories coming via knockout. Kowalkczyk took Ueda down and softened him up with punches and knees before transitioning from back control to a belly-down armbar. Ueda had nowhere to go and tapped out at the 2:08 mark of Round 1.

Razhabali Shaydullaev IS THE REAL DEAL!

Featherweights watch out!

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Opening up the main card, Rajabali Shaidullaev (11-0, 1-0 Rizin) stayed unbeaten and scored a first-round submission win over promotional mainstay Koji Takeda (16-7, 6-7 Rizin) at featherweight. Shaidullaev was a step ahead of Takeda on the feetm and he kept Takeda on the defensive after taking him down into back control. Shaidullaev eventually secured a rear-naked choke, and Takeda tapped out at the 4:43 mark of Round 1.

Prior to intermission before the main card, bantamweight champion Kai Asakura entered the ring to announce that he has signed with the UFC and will be vacating his title.

Earlier in the night, Spike Carlyle (15-6, 2-2 Rizin) came back after struggling during the first two rounds and used a standing rear-naked choke to render lightweight foe Kyung Pyo Kim (13-5, 2-1 Rizin) unconscious at the 1:11 mark of Round 3; Karshyga Dautbek (15-3, 1-1 Rizin) stopped Tetsuya Seki (15-10-1, 3-3 Rizin) with a left hook to the body at the 3:11 mark of Round 1 in featherweight action; Noah Bey (3-3, 3-3 Rizin) won a unanimous decision against Johnny Case (28-10-1, 4-4 Rizin) thanks to Case receiving a significant reduction in points due to failing to make the lightweight limit; and Sho Patrick Usami (7-2, 3-1 Rizin) knocked out fellow lightweight Kazuki Tokudome (20-12-1, 0-2 Rizin) with punches at the 2:29 mark of Round 1. The card also featured a 137-pound kickboxing match with MMA gloves between Genji Umeno and Mamoru Uoi, which Umeno won via unanimous decision.