Kyoji Horiguchi added another big win to his resume, besting Amir Albazi in the UFC Vegas 113 co-main event.
Albazi scored the biggest strike of an otherwise competitive opening round, catching Horiguchi with a stiff right hand that sat the former Bellator and RIZIN champion down. Horiguchi came right back in the second stanza, connecting with a right of his own that had Albazi on wobbly legs.
Horiguchi continued to control the action from that point, bloodying the sixth-ranked contender and outstriking him by a margin of 4-to-1.
With things potentially tied up, Albazi was urged by his corner to “grapple like a maniac.” He did exactly that, but Horiguchi’s takedown defense stifled all six of Albazi’s attempts to get the fight to the ground.
After breaking away, Horiguchi landed a sneaky left hand to the temple that compromised Albazi. Smelling blood in the water, Horiguchi turned up the heat, but he couldn’t find that fight-ending shot.
In the end, we went to the scorecards where ‘The Karate Kid’ would earn his ninth career victory under the UFC banner.
Official Result: Kyoji Horiguchi def. Amir Albazi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
