Horiguchi vs Ougikubo

Who won Horiguchi vs Ougikubo?

Kyoji Horiguchi beat Hiromasa Ougikubo by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest during the main card of Bellator MMA vs. RIZIN, on Saturday 31st December 2022 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama.

The scorecards were announced in favor of the winner Kyoji Horiguchi.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Flyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 125 pounds (8.9 stone or 56.7 KG).

Horiguchi vs Ougikubo stats

Kyoji Horiguchi stepped into the octagon with a record of 30 wins, 5 losses and 0 draws, 15 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 4 by submission.

Hiromasa Ougikubo made his way to the cage with a record of 25 wins, 6 losses and 2 draws, 1 of those win coming by knock out and 6 by submission.

Kyoji Horiguchi's Bellator record stood at 2-2-0, while Hiromasa Ougikubo's came in at 0-1-0.

The stats suggested Horiguchi had a massive power advantage over Ougikubo, boasting a 50% knock out percentage over Ougikubo's 4%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Ougikubo had an advantage over Horiguchi, with a 24% submission rate over Horiguchi's 13%.

Kyoji Horiguchi was the younger man by 4 years, at 33 years old.

Horiguchi had a height advantage of 2 inches over Ougikubo.

Horiguchi was arguably the less experienced fighter, having had 2 more fights, and made his debut in 2010, 3 years and 7 months later than Ougikubo, whose first professional fight was in 2006. He had fought 6 less professional rounds, 87 to Ougikubo's 93.

Horiguchi vs Ougikubo form

Horiguchi had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going to the judges once.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Yuto Hokamura at RIZIN 38 on 25th September 2022 by submission in the 2nd round at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan.

Previous to that, he had lost to Patchy Mix at Bellator 279 on 23rd April 2022 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at Neal S. Blaisdell Center, Honolulu, United States.

Going into that contest, he had been beaten by Sergio Pettis at Bellator MMA on 3rd December 2021 by knockout in the 4th round in their Bellator Bantamweight championship fight at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville.

Before that, he had beaten Kai Asakura at RIZIN 26 on 31st December 2020 by knockout in the 1st round in their Rizin Bantamweight championship fight at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan.

He had been defeated by Kai Asakura at RIZIN 18 on 18th August 2019 by knockout in the 1st round at Dolphins Arena, Nagoya.

Hiromasa Ougikubo had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had lost to Soo Chul Kim at RIZIN 38 on 25th September 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan.

Previous to that, he had defeated Naoki Inoue at RIZIN 33 on 31st December 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Saitama Super Arena(さいたまスーパーアリーナ), Saitama.

Going into that contest, he was victorious against Kai Asakura at RIZIN 33 on 30th December 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Saitama Super Arena(さいたまスーパーアリーナ), Saitama.

Before that, he had won against Takafumi Otsuka at RIZIN 30 on 19th September 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Saitama Super Arena(さいたまスーパーアリーナ), Saitama.

He had beaten Takeshi Kasugai at RIZIN 28 on 13th June 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Tokyo Dome(東京ドーム), Bunkyo.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Hiromasa Ougikubo had been fighting more than Kyoji Horiguchi.

Going to this contest, Kyoji Horiguchi had last fought 1 year and 7 months ago, while Hiromasa Ougikubo's last outing had been 1 year and 7 months ago.

Horiguchi's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 8 months and 7 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 11 months and 8 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 13 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.6 rounds on average.

Ougikubo's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 10 months and 12 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 6 months and 28 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 15 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Horiguchi vs Ougikubo?

Kyoji Horiguchi was a 2/9 (-450) favourite going into the contest, while Hiromasa Ougikubo made his way into the ring at 3/1 (+300) with oddsmakers.