RIZIN’s Kyoji Horiguchi is close to returning to the UFC.

Horiguchi has not fought since beating Nkazimulo Zulu in December in a succesful defense of his flyweight belt. That extended his undefeated record to his last seven fights. He did fight for the flyweight belt in 2015 against Demetrious Johnson at UFC 186, but he suffered a defeat against one of the greatest MMA fighters. The Zulu fight appears to be his last with RIZN. Ariel Helwani has said there are reports that Horiguchi is close to signing with the UFC. There are no opponents or a date lined up, but the target will be to face the flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja.

Some more breaking news 🚨

I am hearing, via multiple sources, that the UFC is very close to welcoming back former UFC title contender, the great and very popular, the pride of Japan, Kyoji Horiguchi.

If you recall, he left the UFC in 2017. He was on a three-fight winning… pic.twitter.com/AigHOlfaxO

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) March 20, 2025

“I am hearing via multiple sources that the UFC is very close to welcoming back, former UFC title contender…. Kyoji Horiguchi. This is a fighter that a lot of fighters speak very highly of at American Top Team. They call him the consummate professional friend, everyone loves him and the fans love him as well. If you recall, he left the UFC in 2017, he was on a three-fight winning streak and he decided to just go back home. [He wanted] to build up RIZIN. But anyway, he had a great run over in RIZIN… I’m hearing one of the opponents being discussed for his return would be Tagir Ulanbekov,” Helwani said