Kyoji
Horiguchi won’t be making his Octagon return at
UFC Baku as originally anticipated.
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The former flyweight title challenger has withdrawn from a proposed
matchup with Tagir
Ulanbekov for undisclosed reasons. Instead, Azat Maksum
will step in and face Ulanbekov at the June 21 event. Red Corner MMA was first to report the change.
UFC Baku — also known as UFC on ABC 8 — marks the promotion’s debut
in Azerbaijan and is headlined by a light heavyweight duel pitting
Jamahal
Hill against Khalil
Rountree.
Earlier this year, Horiguchi vacated his
Rizin Fighting Federation flyweight belt to sign with the UFC,
where he previously competed from 2013 to 2016. Horiguchi went 7-1
during his UFC tenure, with his only loss coming in a flyweight
title bout against then champion Demetrious
Johnson in April 2015. The 34-year-old
American Top Team representative has gone 14-1 with one no
contest under the Rizin banner, earning notable victories over the
likes of Manel Kape,
Ian
McCall, Darrion
Caldwell, Kai Asakura
and Sergio
Pettis, among others. He also enjoyed a brief stint as Bellator
and Rizin bantamweight champion.
Ulanbekov is 5-1 in the Octagon and has won his last three outings.
Most recently, the 33-year-old Dagestani outpointed Clayton
Carpenter at UFC 311.
Kazakhstan’s Maksum began his professional tenure with 15
consecutive triumphs, including a split-decision triumph against
Tyson
Nam in his promotional debut at UFC on ESPN 49. In his last
outing, Maksum dropped a unanimous verdict to Charles
Johnson at UFC Fight Night 235 on Feb. 3.