Japan’s Hiromasa Ougikubo (25-6-2) has a rare opportunity in front of him at Bellator MMA vs. RIZIN.
Down 0-2 in his career series against Kyoji Horiguchi, the RIZIN bantamweight grand prix winner gets a third crack at his rival on New Year’s Eve. The fight sees Horiguchi, who has fought for both promotions simultaneously, representing Bellator, while Ougikubo flies the flag for RIZIN during the cross-promotional event.
Perhaps to underscore the importance of beating Horiguchi, Ougikubo stated during this week’s media day that he’s been looking forward to defeating the current RIZIN bantamweight champ for a decade now.
“For the last ten years, I’ve been looking forward to beating Kyoji Horiguchi,” said Ougikubo. “In two days’ time, I’ll have that opportunity. So I’m thinking that it will become the best day of my life.”
The pair first came together in 2013, under the Shooto banner. Ougikubo found himself submitted early in the second round in that instance. Five years later at RIZIN 11 in 2018, the pair met in a rematch. A better outing for Ougikubo followed, in the sense that he went the distance with the ex-UFC title challenger. The outcome, however, was the same; Horiguchi won, this time via a unanimous decision.
Hiromasa Ougikubo told Cageside Press during the Bellator MMA vs. RIZIN media day that he has learned from those encounters.
“I think Horiguchi has a very unique way of keeping his distance from his opponent. So from the past fights, I know how far he may be standing, so I’m more understanding of how he keeps his distance,” Ougikubo stated. “So I should be able to use that to my advantage.”
When it comes to how Horiguchi has changed over the years, “since he injured his knee, I think he’s standing a little bit closer to his opponents,” noted Ougikubo. Horiguchi tore his ACL in 2019, which led to him vacating both the Bellator and RIZIN bantamweight titles at the time. As for his own development, “for myself, since my fight with Soo Chul Kim, I’ve learned from that fight, so I’d like to try to use what I learned from that fight in this match.”
Watch the full Bellator MMA vs. RIZIN media day appearance by Hiromasa Ougikubo above. The event takes place on December 31, 2022 with the main card airing live on Showtime in the U.S. Elsewhere, the event can be viewed live on Fite.tv.
