The 26-year-old Japanese standout, it was announced on Monday, is returning to Japan to compete for Rizin FF. The promotion issued a release announcing the signing of Horiguchi (18-2) and also posted a photo of him with Rizin FF CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara.
Horiguchi will make his debut for the promotion on April 16 at Rizin’s event at Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan, a major city south of Tokyo. A news conference is planned for Wednesday to announce more details of the card, as well as Horiguchi’s opponent.
After winning Shooto’s bantamweight title in 2013 and defending the belt once, Horiguchi signed with the UFC on the strength of that championship and an 11-1 overall record, all in his native Japan.
His UFC debut came at bantamweight, and he delivered with a third-round TKO of Dustin Pague at UFC 166. But when he came back seven months later, it was at flyweight after the UFC introduced the weight class. After wins over Darrel Montague, Jon delos Reyes and Louis Gaudinot, he was 4-0 in the UFC and got a crack at flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson.
But at UFC 186 in April 2015, he came out on the wrong side of a UFC history trivia question when Johnson submitted him with an armbar with just one second left in their five-round fight in a bout Johnson was about to win on points. It was the latest finish in a title fight in UFC history.
Horiguchi rebounded after that and won three straight unanimous decisions against Chico Camus, Neil Seery and, most recently, fellow former title challenger Ali Gabautinov at UFC Fight Night 99 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. That win made him 7-1 in the UFC.
But instaed of re-upping with the UFC, he will return to his home country for his new home with Rizin FF
Source http://mmajunkie.com/2017/02/former-ufc-flyweight-title-challenger-kyogi-horiguchi-signs-with-rizin-ff-for-april-debut