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#4. Former UFC flyweight contender Ian McCall
After winning the the Rizin bantamweight Grand-Prix in 2017, Kyoji Horiguchi made his return to the ring with a spectacular knockout victory over Ian McCall.
Newer MMA fans might not know about Ian McCall. The California native was once one of the main forebearers for the UFC flyweight division, back when the company introduced the 125lb weight class nearly a decade ago.
McCall's greatest career achievement came when he nearly defeated Demetrious Johnson in the UFC's first ever flyweight bout. Despite many thinking 'Creepy' did enough to win, the judges declared the fight a draw. 'Mighty Mouse' went on to defeat McCall in their rematch.
From 2013 to 2015, McCall would go 2-2 in the UFC before being inactive for nearly three years due to a variety of injuries and illnesses.
He made his comeback as a bantamweight in Rizin and in his second fight with the Japanese promotion he suffered a first round knockout loss to Kyoji Horiguchi. The fight with 'The Typhoon' did not last more than ten seconds and McCall would retire shortly after the knockout loss.
Watch Kyoji Horiguchi's quick knockout of McCall in the video below:
#3. Current UFC flyweight Manel Kape
Kyoji Horiguchi and Manel Kape battled in the semifinals of the Rizin Bantamweight Grand Prix back in 2017.
It was an exciting bout that saw both fighters land powerful strikes. Later in the fight, an accidental clash of heads saw Kyoji Horiguchi get knocked down. Despite the setback, 'The Typoon' rallied hard in the third round and landed a takedown. With Kape on his back, a bloody Horiguchi secured a tight arm-triangle choke and earned a submission victory.
This fight helped display the Japanese fighter's heart and resilience. Like the Bagautinov bout, it also helped showcase Horiguchi's improvement in the grappling department.
Manel Kape would leave Rizin after scoring two spectacular knockouts against Takeya Mizugaki and Kai Asakura. In 2021, he signed with the UFC and move down to flyweight. Having lost his first two bouts with the American promotion, Kape bounced back in August with a devastating knockout victory against Ode' Osbourne.
