Kyoji Horiguchi

Picked to win the rematch he won the first time, with the analyst saying he's backing him again but with less confidence than in prior fights given the specific danger of this opponent's power.

His only career loss at flyweight came against an all-time great; otherwise he essentially only loses at bantamweight, a real marker of how tough he is to beat in this specific weight class. Solid striker who manages distance extremely well, darts in and out effectively, and is very accurate -- his approach looks reckless but is genuinely controlled recklessness that makes him hard to track and counter. Solid grappler too, having previously dominated a well-regarded grappler on the mat; mixes in takedowns well, scrambles well, and has a really good, opportunistic submission arsenal -- exactly what beat this same opponent in their first meeting.

The analyst rates Horiguchi as the more precise striker of the two and expects him to consistently out-land Albazi, while trusting his grappling instincts to survive any scramble that hits the mat.

Coming off an underdog finish that put him back in title contention, Horiguchi is praised as a slick range fighter who darts in, lands cleanly, and exits before he can be countered -- his first strike in an exchange connects with unusual frequency. He mixes in enough wrestling to keep opponents guessing, with good scrambles and an opportunistic submission game that has produced finishes against solid competition. The analyst's take is that his precision and command of distance should carry the standup, and his grappling is sharp enough that he isn't in real danger if the fight does hit the floor.