Islam Makhachev went to the UFC’s inaugural event in Qatar to corner his two teammates. The newly crowned two-division champ was in the corner of UFC debutant Saygid Izagakhmaev and Tagir Ulanbekov, against their opponents Nicolas Dalby and Kyoji Horiguchi, respectively. And because of the Dagestani icon’s cageside presence, both fighters had a huge hype train behind them to win. However, even with Makhachev’s presence, the night didn’t turn out as they expected.

In the prelims, the debutant Izagakhmaev had a really competitive three-round bout against UFC veteran Nicolas Dalby. After 15 minutes of action, the fight went to the judges, who handed the split-decision victory to ‘The Danish Dynamite’. He probably got the nod because he edged Izagakhmaev out on total strikes and control time. But UFC Qatar couldn’t be more unforgiving for Islam Makhachev’s corner work, as on the main card, Kyoji Horiguchi also made a solid UFC comeback and secured a rear-naked choke submission in the third round against an uninspired Ulanbekov.

Well, the Dagestani two-weight titleholder might have actually joined Khabib Nurmagomedov in the GOAT talks, but his stint as a cornerman definitely took a hit tonight. However, the credit also goes to the Danish UFC veteran and the Japanese legend for putting on a genuinely exciting performance against some tough opponents. Still, out of the winners, it’s undoubtedly Horiguchi who impressed the audience most. 

The 35-year-old warrior from the land of the rising sun was flying a bit under the radar because he was making a UFC comeback after nine years. His last fight in the promotion was against Ali Bagautinov at UFC Fight Night 99: Mousasi vs. Hall 2, so fans thought he might not hang with Team Khabib’s most renowned member, Ulanbekov, at UFC Qatar. But the Japanese rockstar ended up smashing his opponent in every department.

On the feet, Horiguchi landed 120 total strikes compared to Ulanbekov’s 10, and on top of that, he logged 5:34 minutes of ground control before eventually securing the choke in the third round. So after that kind of statement performance, Horiguchi had only one thing on his mind, which was a scrap against his teammate for the title. 

Kyoji Horiguchi called out Alexandre Pantoja after UFC Qatar victory  

In the flyweight division, Alexandre Pantoja has already earned the title of the most dominant champ after Demetrious Johnson because of his dominant victories over challengers. To keep that reign alive, the Brazilian is all set to defend his title once again against Joshua Van on December 06, at the final ESPN card and the last PPV event of 2025. However, as ‘The Cannibal’ prepares for his upcoming bout, his American Top Team training partner, Kyoji Horiguchi, might soon step up to challenge him for the title.

At the octagon interview with Michael Bisping, Horiguchi said, “I feel very good right now, because I come back to UFC. This is my dream you know. Of course I want to get a UFC belt you know, Where’s the Pantoja? He’s my teammate, but doesn’t matter! I will beat your a—.” That was definitely a very animated callout from the Japanese veteran, but despite being straightforward with his ambition, Horiguchi made it clear that it’s nothing personal against his teammate, just business.

Adding to his post-fight speech, the 35-year-old said, “Yeah, I don’t care, but I have respect for Pantoja. But a fight is a fight you know. Business!!!” A statement that Michael Bisping appreciated for showing how passionate Horiguchi is about fighting his teammate next. For the unversed, Horiguchi has known Pantoja for quite some time and was part of his camp against Kai Asakura at UFC 310.

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So it will definitely be interesting to see whether he can climb up the rankings quickly and face Alexandre Pantoja for the title. That said, do you think this is actually an opportunity? Let us know in the comments section below.