At 23, Kyoji Horiguchi (11-1) is set to become the youngest Asian fighter to ever compete in the UFC’s octagon.
The former Shooto champ hails from Japan, a country that has produced an influx of some of the world’s best Asian fighters over the years. Michihiro Omigawa, Yushin Okami, Riki Fukuda, Yasuhiro Urushitani and Yoshihiro Akiyama are all UFC vets who have experienced success to a certain degree inside the world’s famous octagon, and now, Horiguchi is set to follow the footsteps of his fellow countrymen.
Former Shooto champ Kyoji Horiguchi gears up for toughest test yet: the UFC
The 23-year-old prospect has fought primarily in Japan with the Shooto promotion, tabling up an impressive 9-1 record under the organization’s banner. The lone defeat of that illustrious spell came from none other than reigning ONE FC Bantamweight Tournament champ Masakatsu Ueda, who in January of 2012, was awarded a majority decision victory.
Horiguchi trains out of the famed Krazy Bee camp in Japan, alongside the likes of current UFC fighter Norifumi Yamamoto, ONE FC vet Kotetsu Boku, and current ROAD FC combatant Issei Tamura. Suffice to say, the 23-year-old has surrounded himself with some of the best that Japan has to offer, as he gears up for his promotional debut in the largest MMA organization across the globe.
The Japanese starlet is set to make his UFC debut in the Facebook-based preliminary portion of next weekend’s UFC 166 fight card, where he’ll be kick-starting the night’s proceedings in a 135-lbs tilt with veteran Dustin Pague (11-8).
Pague, 26, is an alumni of “The Ultimate Fighter 14” reality TV series, where he was a part of “Team Mayhem” which was coached by Jason Miller. After that stint, Pague was called up to the UFC ranks, and has made five appearances in under the promotion’s banner to date.
On a three fight losing skid, Pague could very well be seeking employment elsewhere if he loses next weekend.
Headlined by Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos 3 for the Heavyweight belt, UFC 166 goes down on October 19 at the Toyota Center in Houstan, Texas. The co-main event will also be a Heavyweight tilt featuring Daniel Cormier against Roy Nelson.
Check out the rest of the fight card below:
MAIN CARD (PPV, 10 p.m. ET)
- Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos (For UFC Heavyweight title)
- Daniel Cormier vs. Roy Nelson
- Gilbert Melendez vs. Diego Sanchez
- Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Shawn Jordan
- John Dodson vs. Darrell Montague
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. ET)
- Tim Boetsch vs. C.B. Dollaway
- Hector Lombard vs. Nate Marquardt
- Jessica Eye vs. Sarah Kaufman
- K.J. Noons vs. George Sotiropoulos
PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook, 6 p.m. ET)
- Adlan Amagov vs. T.J. Waldburger
- Tony Ferguson vs. Mike Rio
- Jeremy Larsen vs. Andre Fili
- Kyogi Horiguchi vs. Dustin Pague
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Follow Thinesh on Twitter (@ThineshJohnMMA), and keep up with the latest MMA news from MMASucka via Twitter (@MMASucka) and Facebook
