A night of surprises and explosive finishes (is it really a RIZIN show without a soccer kick finish?), RIZIN 45 had a little bit of everything — and was capped off by a flyweight title fight as Kyoji Horiguchi and Makoto Shinryu met for the second time.
The fight, or at least the aftermath, even had a surprising, heartwarming twist.
The pair’s first meeting, in July, had ended in a No Contest when an eye poke rendered Shinryu unable to continue. That led to some bad blood between the pair, with Horiguchi irked that his rival was unable to continue in a title fight.
The pair had a second chance to finish their business, in the main event of RIZIN’s annual New Year’s Eve show, with the promotion’s inaugural flyweight championship once again on the line.
The tone might have been set when Shinryu declined to touch gloves with Horiguchi, who at least made the offer. With action underway, Shinryu shot in on a quick takedown attempt, but agile as he was on the feet, Horiguchi was a step quicker and stuffed the attempt.
Makoto Shinryu stayed on the takedown, however, pushing Horiguchi into the corner and eventually getting him to the mat. Horiguchi answered with a choke, as he was able to get in position for a guillotine. While a decent enough attempt, Shinryu didn’t seem to be in too much danger and was eventually able to pull free. He’d land another takedown with roughly a minute left in the frame, while Horiguchi, when he was on the feet, used back elbows to try and keep his opponent off of him. Horiguchi would reverse position late and pursue his own takedown, but didn’t have it.
There were some heavy shots thrown early in the second, followed by Kyoji Horiguchi landing a takedown. Shinryu reversed, and was briefly able to get to mount. Horiguchi managed to reclaim guard, and again went after a guillotine attempt. When they returned to the feet, Horiguchi connected with a knee, and soon had Shinryu on unsteady legs.
Horiguchi would pile on for a bit, before taking things to the corner. Shinryu had perhaps partially recovered, but he could not fend off a Horiguchi choke attempt moments later! Horiguchi had the back and forced the tap, securing another big win in another milestone for his career.
After claiming bantamweight gold in both Bellator and RIZIN, Kyoji Horiguchi now has another world championship, this time at his more natural flyweight division. He also has a big date coming up — his wedding. Getting down on one knee, Horiguchi proposed to his girlfriend following the win. She said yes, making a special night for the Japanese star even more special.
And to cap it all off, Kyoji Horiguchi proposes and gets the answer: 𝒀𝒆𝒔🎉
📡 Watch on @FITEtv !🔻https://t.co/eEpfmslhPp pic.twitter.com/VWVHHHaIQE
— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) December 31, 2023
