Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Sergio Pettis 2 announced for RIZIN 47 in June
Kyoji Horiguchi will get the chance to avenge a loss to Sergio Pettis later this summer in RIZIN.
‘The Typhoon’ is fresh off a rematch with Makoto Takahashi at RIZIN 45 in December. That fight was his second in a row with the Japanese fighter, previously fighting to a no-contest in July that ended in an eye poke. In the second bout, Kyoji Horiguchi wasted no time, securing a second-round submission victory.
In the process, Kyoji Horiguchi won RIZIN flyweight gold. Despite some speculation that he would head to the UFC afterward, he’s seemingly decided to stay in Japan. Earlier today, it was announced that Horiguchi will face former Bellator bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis at RIZIN 47 on June 9th.
The announcement was made, alongside a slew of other bouts on social media. Despite Kyoji Horiguchi winning flyweight gold his last time out, this rematch will be happening at 135 pounds. For Sergio Pettis, he will get the chance to go 2-0 against the current champion, in his first fight in the RIZIN ring.
The two first met at Bellator 272 in December 2021. That fight was largely dominated by Kyoji Horiguchi, and he was leading on the scorecards heading into the championship rounds. However, in round four, Sergio Pettis handed the Japanese star a knockout loss after a brutal spinning backfist.
Sergio Pettis KO’s Kyoji Horiguchi
Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Sergio Pettis official for RIZIN 47 on June 9th in Tokyo
While Kyoji Horiguchi has had a lot of success lately, Sergio Pettis hasn’t fought much since their 2021 bout. After winning the Bellator bantamweight title, ‘The Phenom’ spent a year out of action. Pettis returned to the cage to hand Patricio Pitbull a unanimous decision defeat in June 2023. That defeat prevented the Brazilian from winning gold in a historic third weight class.
However, Sergio Pettis later lost his bantamweight title to Patchy Mix last November, suffering a second-round submission defeat. Six months later, he will get the chance to return against a familiar foe in the RIZIN ring. Pettis’ rematch with Kyoji Horiguchi will be the first fight away from Bellator since 2019.
However, Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Sergio Pettis 2 was not the only fight announced earlier today. RIZIN officials also announced a clash between former champions, as Juan Archuleta and Kleber Koike Erbst will collide. 145-pounders Karshyga Dautbek and Tetsuya Seki will meet on June 9th as well.
What do you make of this RIZIN fight announcement? Who do you have in this rematch? Kyoji Horiguchi or Sergio Pettis?
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
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Kyoji Horiguchi RIZIN FF Sergio Pettis
