#kyoji-horiguchi

#kyoji-horiguchi

As the UFC's ESPN era draws to a close, there has been a noticeable lack of Fight of the Night bonuses awarded, with the promotion instead selecting Performance bonuses more often than not. For the fourth consecutive event, that was the case on Saturday, with four Performance of the Night bonuses instead handed out at UFC Qatar. Among the winners, the returning Kyoji Horiguchi, and short-notice heavyweight Waldo Cortes-Acosta.

The former UFC flyweight title challenger, RIZIN, and Bellator MMA champion was fighting inside the octagon for the first time since 2016, when he walked away from the UFC while on a three-fight winning streak. The Japanese star would go on to win bantamweight gold in RIZIN and Bellator MMA, briefly carrying both belts simultaneously. After vacating those belts due to injury, Horigichi would later go on to win RIZIN's inaugural flyweight championship,