Bellator’s Juan Archuleta sees MMA ‘superstardom’ with a win over Rizin champ Kyoji Horiguchi
- Archuleta excited to face ‘the best Horiguchi’ after Japanese icon’s spectacular comeback win on New Year’s Eve
- ‘I win this title, I’ll fight whomever Japan has me next in line to defend against’
Bellator bantamweight champ Juan Archuleta has been itching to fight Kyoji Horiguchi for almost two years.
Now the stars may finally have aligned for “Spaniard” (25-2) to get his dream match.
Making his comeback on New Year’s Eve, Horiguchi (29-3) spectacularly knocked out Kai Asakura in the first round to win back his Rizin title. With the Japanese promotion announcing a show at the iconic Tokyo Dome in March for Rizin 27, the 30-year-old Horiguchi revealed his intention to get his other belt back and become a “champ champ” once again.
“He looked stronger and better than ever so I’m going to get the best Horiguchi there is and I’m excited for that,” Archuleta told SCMP MMA.
“It’s like fighting Cain Velasquez or Jon Jones for the lighter weights so that’s what I’m looking forward to.”
