As a professional fighter, Islam Makhachev hasn’t seen too many really tough days inside the octagon. However, as a cornerman, the newly crowned two-division champ actually went through a horrible night during this past weekend’s UFC Qatar. Images and videos and him sitting slouched by the Octagón with his head buried between his arms in disappointment went viral soon after. At first, the Dagestani legend’s teammate, Saygid Izagakhmaev, dropped a split decision to Nicolas Dalby. Following that rough outing, another star teammate, Tagir Ulanbekov, got completely dominated by Kyoji Horiguchi and was finished in round three. By the second loss, things got so bad that Makhachev himself wanted to step in and stop the fight.

So why did Ulanbekov get dominated by a former UFC fighter returning to the octagon after nine years? Well, it turns out there’s a clear reason behind Makhachev’s teammate’s disappointing loss. In an interview with Russian media outlets after arriving in Dagestan, Makhachev revealed that Tagir’s grueling weight cut to make flyweight ultimately became the reason for the loss.

He said, “It’s no secret that Tagir is actually older than me. And I saw his entire weight cut… No one had a tougher cut than he did. Even on fight day, I talked to him before and after the bout, telling him he shouldn’t be leaving so much energy in the weight cut. Yesterday, Tagir showed maybe only 50% of himself. He walked out there, and after the very first exchange, he was already swollen and couldn’t breathe.”

Makhachev added, “Honestly, I even wanted to stop the fight. But knowing Tagir’s character — that he fights until the very end — I didn’t do it. He simply didn’t feel comfortable enough to go out there and fight. I think our team will sit down and make a decision — Tagir won’t be cutting weight like that ever again.”

Well, Islam Makhachev is right to point out Ulanbekov’s grueling weight cut as the reason he lost the fight against Kyoji Horiguchi, because he already has a history of missing weight. At UFC Vegas 93, the Dagestani flyweight even missed weight for his fight against Joshua Van by a massive 3.5 pounds. So, he’s undoubtedly a much bigger guy who has to cut a lot of weight to make 125 lbs, which likely explains why Ulanbekov couldn’t maintain his energy and ended up throwing only 10 total strikes compared to Horiguchi’s 40.   

So, as there are clear reasons behind Ulanbekov losing the fight, it also has to be recognized that the Japanese star deserves credit for delivering such a one-sided beatdown on his opponent. And finally, Horiguchi explained how he clinically dismantled the Dagestani so swiftly.

Kyoji Horiguchi breaks down how he beat Islam Makhachev’s teammate 

Even though Kyoji Horiguchi made his return to the UFC octagon after nine years, it looked like the Japanese legend never left. He kept winning on the feet and on the ground, thanks to the way he moved laterally and used that movement to land shots from the perfect distance to cause damage. Because of that approach, Horiguchi managed to beat an opponent who was much bigger than him.

In his YouTube video, Horiguchi said, “Well I couldn’t get in because I was too far away in an awkward distance. And since he’s pretty good in striking, I guess he thought he would go at it then. I mean he was hitting some amazing shots. I don’t use my legs so much, so I’m jumping around a lot. It has nothing to do with size.”

Although Horiguchi has been getting praise for defeating his opponent inside the UFC after so long, it also has to be recognized that the 35-year-old was a Rizin champion before making his return to Dana White’s promotion. So, he simply showed his championship experience against an opponent who entered the fight as the favorite in almost everyone’s book.

That said, as UFC Qatar wraps up, what do you think comes next for Kyoji Horiguchi and Islam Makhachev’s teammate Tagir Ulanbekov? Let us know in the comments section below.