Kyoji Horiguchi returns to the UFC after a successful run as champion in RIZIN and Bellator, and his teammate Alexandre Pantoja would be happy to defend his flyweight title against him in the future.
The UFC has yet to announce a date and opponent for Horiguchi’s return fight in the octagon, and Pantoja envisions facing his American Top Team partner down the line if the Japanese star is able to put a win streak together.
“We have 100 fighters [at ATT],” Pantoja told MMA Fighting. “All the time we have teammates fighting. But Kyoji Horiguchi helped me get this belt. If I don’t have Kyoji Horiguchi, I don’t know if I have the opportunity to fight for the belt, I don’t know if I have the to be a champion one day. But I have Kyoji Horiguchi here on my side all my camps. And that’s what I say, if Kyoji Horiguchi helped me to conquer that, he helped my family too.
“And all the time I have the chance to say thank you to him, I say Kyoji, thank you for everything you did for me. And it’s gonna be a pleasure if I fight with him for the belt. Just for the belt. I don’t believe I’d fight with Kyoji without the belt, but for the belt, we are talking about that. And it’s gonna be like a gift, this opportunity to fight with Kyoji for the belt. I hope I can still hold this belt for so long and wait Kyoji for that. We really appreciate the opportunity. Me and him, I can make sure for you, when I spar with Kyoji in the gym, every fight stops in the gym and watches my training with him. It’s a pleasure. It’s like real gift to have Kyoji on my side.”
Alexandre Pantoja: ‘It’s gonna be a pleasure’ to fight teammate Kyoji Horiguchi for UFC title
Alexandre Pantoja discusses a potential fight with Kyoji Horiguchi, who’s next in line for the UFC flyweight title.