Las Vegas — Flyweight Amir Albazi returns to action for the first time since a November 2024 loss to Brandon Moreno when he faces Kyoji Horiguchi at UFC Vegas 113 this Saturday.
The first Paramount+ Fight Night event is hosted at the newly christened Meta Apex, and Albazi (17-2) will look to return to his winning ways against Horiguchi, a former UFC title challenger who, after leaving the company, won gold in Bellator and RIZIN (at two weight classes in the latter) before returning to the octagon late last year.
Like he does against Horiguchi, Albazi had a lengthy layoff ahead of his fight with Moreno.
“I don’t know if it was ring rust, but I definitely think I underperformed that fight, and I never got to show Amir Albazi, the real Amir Albazi,” he noted during Wednesday’s UFC Vegas 113 media day, with outlets including Cageside Press onhand. “The original Amir Albazi. So I’m happy to be here to finally be able to show people that this is the real Amir Albazi, this is the problem in the division. I can’t wait to show you guys on Saturday.”
Albazi has said he wants to be a bully in the fight. As to what that looks like, “I’ve always, always been a bully whenever I go into the cage,” he stated. “I’m a nice guy outside, but whenever I go into the cage, I’m looking to damage people, I’m looking to bring violence. I’m looking to make violence nice again. I always bring that to the table, and I feel like that was lacking in the Moreno fight.”
Amir Albazi was supposed to face off with Tatsuro Taira last August, only for the bout to be cancelled when he was not medically cleared. It was a separate issue from the one he dealt with prior to the Moreno fight, it seems.
That wasn’t related to his neck injury, but rather “it was related to something else I’d rather not disclose,” Albazi clarified to Cageside Press. “It just sucked that I had so many surgeries. I had surgery after Kai Kara-France, I had the heart surgery. When I was booked against Moreno, I had the neck surgery. And then finally coming back to start competing again, waiting for a long time for a match-up, and then I don’t get medically cleared against Taira.”
“At the end of the day that’s all behind me, all I’m focusing on— I’m happy to be back in Vegas, happy to be sitting here, and I’m more than excited me be able to make it to Saturday and fight another man.”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 113 media day appearance by Amir Albazi above.
