The Remix, Vol. 22: Kyoji Horiguchi tops outside UFC?

E. Spencer Kyte

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The Remix, Vol. 22: Kyoji Horiguchi tops outside UFC? image
Every week, we’ll release a new MMA mix tape entitled “The Remix” that looks back at not only the biggest stories of the last seven days, but some of the ones that aren’t getting enough attention too, with some weekly awards and a prospect to watch going forward added in for good measure.

Is Kyoji Horiguchi the best fighter outside the UFC right now?

Kyoji Horiguchi racked up another dominant victory over the weekend, making quick work of Ben Nguyen at Rizin 15, putting away his fellow former UFC flyweight just under three minutes into the opening round.

It was Horiguchi’s ninth straight victory with the Japanese promotion, which has given him an opportunity to flourish and become a star. Along the way, the 28-year-old might have also grown into being the best fighter competing outside of the UFC right now.

In addition to beating a host of familiar names, Horiguchi posted a third-round win over reigning Bellator MMA bantamweight champ Darrion Caldwell two fights back, submitting “The Wolf” to become the inaugural Rizin bantamweight champion. Following his win over Nguyen on Saturday, the rumblings were that Horiguchi could run it back with Caldwell later this spring when Bellator MMA returns to Madison Square Garden on June 14:

 

 

With all that he’s accomplished since leaving the UFC — and everything he did during his eight-fight run inside the Octagon — you could make a compelling case for Horiguchi being the best fighter competing outside of the UFC right now.

He has competition from Gegard Mousasi and Ryan Bader, with the former having a better case even though the latter is Bellator’s first “Champ Champ,” but given that the American Top Team representative went 7-1 in the UFC with his only loss coming a championship clash that came far too soon against Demetrious Johnson and he’s rattled off 12 straight since, you’d be hard-pressed to successfully argue a case for anyone else.

And he’s still only 28!

While his departure made sense, Horiguchi increasingly feels like a second-tier star the UFC let slip through its hands.

UFC Saint Petersburg offers a look at new names in “stale” divisions

In the second bout of Saturday’s UFC event in Saint Petersburg, Russia, light heavyweight prospect Michal Oleksiejczuk made Gadzhimurad Antigulov pay for recklessly trying to close the distance. Each time the overly aggressive Antigulov raced forward, his 24-year-old Polish counterpart backed up and put a clean left hand on his chin, sending the Russian to the canvas.

In just 44 seconds of work, Oleksiejczuk scored three knockdowns, en route to picking up his second first-round stoppage win in the last 10 weeks.

One fight later, Shamil Abdurakhimov collected a blistering second-round stoppage win over Marcin Tybura to push his winning streak to three. Abdurakhimov is 5-1 since losing his promotional debut, with his lone setback coming against Derrick Lewis in the fourth-round of a main event pairing in Albany that he had dominated over the opening three rounds.

The 37-year-old should find himself in the cage with a more established opponent next time out and with another victory, he could find himself on the fringes of title contention.

Much later in the evening, hulking Russian Sergey Pavlovich picked up his first UFC victory, putting Marcelo Golm away with a blistering combination along the fence just over a minute into their heavyweight clash. After being fed to Alistair Overeem when he made his first trip into the Octagon last November, the 25-year-old former Fight Nights Global champ showed he’s an intriguing new name to watch in the heavyweight ranks.

This is the type of card where you see how closely fans and media members pay attention to the sport, because you can’t come away from Saturday’s event in Saint Petersburg complaining about the lack of fresh names at heavyweight and light heavyweight when three of the 11 bouts were won by fresh names in those two weight classes.

Just because you didn’t see it or aren’t familiar with the athletes stepping into the cage doesn’t mean they’re not talented or their performances are somehow lesser than those of an established fighter on a more prominent fight card.

One of the biggest reasons there are so many “unknown contenders” and ranked fighters that “nobody has heard of” these days is because everyone focuses on a group of familiar names and newcomers with buzz, rather than just watching the fights, taking in the performances and recognizing the talent that is on display.

Oleksiejczuk has been as impressive in his last two outings as Johnny Walker was in his first two Octagon appearances, but because he’s quiet and unassuming, everyone ignores him, while folks were falling all over themselves to heap praise on the flamboyant Brazilian light heavyweight.

Until this improves, solid events like this and numerous names worth watching are going to continue to get overlooked or ignored.

How about that booth on Saturday?

The UFC Saint Petersburg broadcast booth featured John Gooden on play-by-play with Dan Hardy and Paul Felder serving as analysts and it was perfect.

Gooden has his own vernacular when it comes to setting up the action and calling the blow-by-blow of what’s happening in the cage and his timing and chemistry with Hardy has been outstanding for years.

While three-man booths can be challenging, the addition of Felder was seamless because the man Jon Anik calls “The Iron Lung” is already a stone-cold killer in the role, bringing a great blend of personality and professional insights to his side hustle.

But here’s the part that really takes it over the top for me: all three understand that less is more and the broadcast isn’t about them, which makes for such a wonderful viewing experience.

There was no shouting. No random tangents. No catchphrases. No “one-upmanship” between the analysts; just a consistent, insightful flow of pertinent information while allowing the action transpiring in the Octagon to be the focal point and speak for itself.

Well done, lads; hope you get more opportunities to work together in the future.

Fight of the Weekend: Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan at UFC Saint Petersburg

This fight was a perfect encapsulation of the kind of quality performances people are missing by skipping these cards and ignore bouts the feature competitors they’re not already acquainted with.

Makhachev has been making steady progress up the lightweight ranks over the last couple years and is one of those guys who is still just outside the rankings, but a nightmare matchup for some of your favorite familiar names. Tsarukyan was a UFC newcomer who had beaten some guys who had a cup of coffee in the Octagon, but was seemingly been thrown to the wolves in his initial UFC appearance.

Although it was one of the most low-profile co-main event pairings of the year, Saturday’s penultimate bout delivered the goods, as Tsarukyan went takedown-for-takedown and scramble-for-scramble with the surging Makhachev before fading down the stretch in the third.

It was a tremendously entertaining grappling match where Makhachev showed his resolve and Tsarukyan proved he belongs. Both will be heard from again in the lightweight division before too long and this is sure to end up being a benchmark fight in their respective careers.

Submission of the Weekend: Kanako Murata vs. Saray Orozco at Rizin 15

We’re going to have to put together a commission to determine the new name of the Von Flue choke because in addition to Ovince Saint Preux deserving some inclusion in the naming of the hold, Kanako Murata does too now.

 

 

This was the second straight “Von Flue choke” finish for Murata, who accepted the fight on Tuesday. Additionally, she finished that bad boy from mount, not from side control, which makes it even more impressive.

If we’re figuring out a new name to acknowledge the innovator (Jason Von Flue) and its two more frequent current practitioners (OSP and Murata), may I suggest calling it the “Jason Saint Murata choke” going forward?

Knockout of the Weekend: Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Marcin Tybura at UFC Saint Petersburg

Any time you hit someone so hard that there is a delayed reaction, there is a good chance you’re landing in this space.

After getting the better of things on the feet in the first, Abdurakhimov looked like he was slowing down a little in the second, prompting Tybura to press forward. But then the Russian uncorked a shot that landed flush and caused Tybura to do the delayed wobbled:

 

 

This was an outstanding performance for Abdurakhimov, who has now won three straight, as previously mentioned, and is a Derrick Lewis rally away from being on a six-fight winning streak in the UFC.

Prospect to Watch after this Weekend: Mosvar Evloev

Because I’m already on board the Michal Oleksiejczuk bandwagon, the nod this week goes to the UFC newcomer I described as “The Russian Elijah Wood” on Saturday, Mosvar Evloev.

The unbeaten Russian moved up to featherweight for his Octagon debut and kept rolling along, collecting a unanimous decision win over fellow freshman Seungwoo Choi to push his record to 11-0 overall. Here are some of the highlights:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boasting a relentless pace and well-rounded skill set, the 25-year-old Evloev looks like someone people should definitely pay close attention to going forward, even in a loaded division like featherweight. 

E. Spencer Kyte