“Sorry I couldn’t live up to your expectations,” Kyoji Horiguchi sends an emotional message after his loss to Sergio Pettis at Bellator 272


“Sorry I couldn’t live up to your expectations,” Kyoji Horiguchi sends an emotional message after his loss to Sergio Pettis at Bellator 272

Sergio Pettis defeats Kyoji Horiguchi to retain bantamweight title

At Bellator 272, Sergio Pettis defeated Kyoji Horiguchi with a ‘KO of the Year’ contender to retain his Bellator Bantamweight title.

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Horiguchi suffered a brutal spinning backfist knockout loss against bantamweight champion Pettis on Friday night at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The finish came in Round 4 after Horiguchi was dominant in the first three rounds and clearly up 3-0 on all three judges’ scorecards.

Pettis whiffed on a head kick from close range but used his momentum to throw a spinning backfist that landed flush on Horiguchi’s face and put him to sleep instantly. Horiguchi was transported to a local hospital after the fight. On Saturday, Horiguchi provided a brief update on his status and future in the Division.


Horiguchi stated (in Japanese), “To all my supporters, Sorry I couldn’t live up to your expectations! I’m completely fine and I’ll keep fighting!” Horiguchi, still the Rizin bantamweight champion, returned to action for the first time in almost 13 months after tearing his ACL. He was hoping to win back the Bellator 135-pound title he was forced to vacate because of the injury.

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Horiguchi will get another shot to reclaim gold as one of eight fighters who will partake in the Bellator bantamweight grand Prix set to begin in early 2022.

“That’s the knockout of my Career,” Sergio Pettis reacts to his Knockout victory over Kyoji Horiguchi

Sergio Pettis on Kyoji Horiguchi
Sergio Pettis retains his Bantamweight title against Kyoji Horiguchi

Pettis doesn’t think that’s for him to say, but from a self-perspective, the Bellator bantamweight champion thinks his spinning backfist Friday against Horiguchi proved how far he’s come as a mixed martial artist.

“That’s the knockout of my career, so hopefully it’s ‘Knockout of the Year.’ We’ll see, man.” Pettis told reporters, including MMA Junkie, backstage at Mohegan Sun Arena. “There’s been some crazy knockouts, but I think against an opponent like Horiguchi, 29-3, to pull something off like that and see how his body reacted, it’s crazy. It took a long time for him to get out of the fight, which is wild. It’s a wild sport.”

For the first three-and-a-half rounds, Pettis was controlled on the ground and in the standup. Down on the judges’ scorecards, Pettis rallied to overcome adversity and add an all-time highlight to the MMA history books that may rival his brother Anthony’s legendary “Showtime” kick.

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