Turns out, the 35-year-old is still a legitimate threat, which only makes his return to the fold more exciting.
Horiguchi is one of those athletes who ascended the ranks too rapidly during his first tour with the UFC, landing opposite Demetrious Johnson in a championship bout after just four appearances. While he made “Mighty Mouse” work, he was still overmatched and ultimately submitted on the horn in the fifth round before winning his next three fights and opting not to re-sign with the promotion. In Rizin, he became a star and the fully formed version we saw in November and will see on Saturday against Amir Albazi.
READ: Saturday’s Full Fight Card Preview
Because there is currently incredible depth at the top of the division, a win over the returning Albazi won’t be enough to catapult Horiguchi into a championship opportunity, but it would signify that he’s all the way back into the mix and position him for another massive fight later this year. The title picture is cloudy right now, but there are going to be some odd men out in the near future, and with another strong effort this weekend, Horiguchi could be stationed across from one of them in the spring or summer.
Farid Basharat
It’s insane how deep and talented the bantamweight division is at the moment and really has been for the last several years. There is no weight class with as many skilled, competitive fighters at every level of the roster as the 135-pound ranks, and Basharat is one of several great examples of that truth.
If he fought in just about any other division, the 28-year-old would be ranked or, at the very least, getting the opportunity to fight someone stationed in the rankings after earning five straight wins to advance to 14-0 overall. Instead — and this isn’t a knock on anyone —he’s paired off with a fellow up-and-coming bantamweight in a “win and advance” bout between prospects this weekend.
