Kyoji Horiguchi feels ready for a “champ-champ” vs. “champ-champ” bout against Henry Cejudo.
Horiguchi is the Bellator and Rizin bantamweight champion. He captured the Bellator 135-pound gold with a unanimous decision victory over Darrion Caldwell inside Madison Square Garden in New York City. It’s Horiguchi’s second victory over Caldwell.
Horiguchi Aims For Showdown With Henry Cejudo
Backstage at Bellator 222, ESPN‘s Ariel Helwani caught up with Horiguchi. The two-promotion champion said he’s willing to fight Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bantamweight and flyweight title holder Cejudo:
“Me better. I want to fight Henry Cejudo. Yeah let’s go fight. Yes I want it. 135 [pounds] is better.”
Horiguchi went on to say he feels like a significantly better fighter from his submission loss to Demetrious Johnson back in April 2015:
“Ever since that loss I’ve completely changed my environment. I’ve moved everything over to ATT and I’ve worked on my ground game. I do believe that I’m a much more complete fighter and a totally well-rounded fighter than I was.”
Cejudo became the first man to dethrone Johnson in the 125-pound division. At UFC 238 earlier this month, he stopped Marlon Moraes to add the bantamweight gold to his mantle. Cejudo will likely miss the rest of 2019 due to shoulder surgery.
