Former Bellator and Rizin world champion Kyoji Horiguchi (35-5) made his first UFC appearance in almost a decade on Saturday. And he delivered a third-round submission victory against Tagir Ulanbekov on the undercard of UFC Fight Night 265 in Qatar. Horiguchi dominated, as he knocked Ulanbekov down twice and landed 120 total strikes.
After a solid outing in his UFC return, we consider four possible opponents Horiguchi may face next.
Timothy Elliott
After a submission defeat to Muhammad Mokaev at UFC 294 in October 2023, Timothy Elliott has rallied with submission victories of his own in his last two fights. In August, Elliott submitted Kai Asakara with a guillotine choke in the second round at UFC 319. Each of his last two wins earned the Performance of the Night bonus. The native of Arkansas City, Kansas, is ranked 10th in our UFC flyweight rankings.
Alex Perez
On the preliminary card of UFC Qatar, Alex Perez tapped out to a standing guillotine choke from Asu Almabayev in the third round. Perez lost his second consecutive fight, along with his fourth defeat in his last five outings. The Hanford, California native’s last victory came in April 2024, when he knocked out Matheus Nicolau at UFC Vegas 91. Perez was previously ranked No. 7 at 125 pounds, and will likely go down a few spots following his latest defeat.
Asu Almabayev
In a close and competitive contest, Almabayev made sure to leave no doubt as he defeated Perez by third-round submission. “Zulfikar” picked up his sixth win since he joined the UFC in 2023, as he improved to 6-1. It was his second consecutive win since a TKO loss to Manel Kape at UFC Fight Night 53 in March. Almabayev was ranked 7th in our flyweight rankings after a strong victory.
Manel Kape
Following two postponements this year, Manel Kape will finally take on Brandon Royval in the headliner of UFC on ESPN 73 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Dec. 13. “Starboy” has two consecutive stoppage wins in his last two fights. He has also won four of his last five contests. Kape defeated Almabayev by third-round TKO in his latest outing. The native of Luanda, Angola, had emerged as the favorite against Royval in the previous fight odds. He is currently the No. 6-ranked flyweight.
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