Preview: UFC Fight Night ‘Barnett vs Nelson’

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Flyweights

Kyoji Horiguchi (15-2, 4-1 UFC) vs Chico Camus (14-6, 3-3 UFC)

THE MATCHUP: A brilliant prospect thrown to the wolves too soon makes his comeback against the most underrated fighter in the division.

When Camus fought Henry Cejudo at UFC 188, he was a 13-to-2 underdog, which sounds very strange in retrospect: He gave Cejudo three of the toughest, closest rounds of his burgeoning MMA career. Now Camus is set to face the flyweight division’s other uber-prospect, Krazy Bee’s Horiguchi.

Horiguchi is a master of rhythm manipulation. The Norifumi Yamamoto protégé boasts an understanding of tempo more befitting a gritty veteran than a fresh-faced 24 year-old prospect. He punctuates his bouncy footwork with sudden bursts of offense, lunging punches and kicks fired on the half-beat, all surrounded by a symphony of stutter steps and feints designed to mislead the opponent’s counters or shut down his offense entirely. Unlike many other karateka-cum-mixed martial artists, Horiguchi is a strong combination puncher; the short hooks he throws as he separates from the opponent are every bit as dangerous as the long crosses with which he enters.

Horiguchi pairs this in-and-out style of striking with a solid clinch wrestling game. When he is not creating space and landing short punches, he will look for trips and foot sweeps to keep his opponent guessing. Though not impossible to take down by any means, Horiguchi’s bottom game allows him to return to his feet quickly. With active hips and a guard built around sweeps, he has proven impossible to control on the mat for everyone but the inimitable Demetrious Johnson. On top, Horiguchi throws crushing and accurate ground-and-pound, just like “Kid” Yamamoto himself.

THE ODDS: Horiguchi (-310), Camus (+260)

THE PICK: It was counterpunching and defensive wrestling that gave Camus such an unexpected edge against Cejudo, and those same skills will be powerful weapons against Horiguchi. With nine knockouts to Cejudo’s three, however, Horiguchi is a different animal altogether and a far trickier one to trap. As a solid counterpuncher himself, Horiguchi will have the freedom to make Camus lead or to slow down his striking game with superior variety and unbreakable rhythm. I would be a fool to count out Camus, but the pick is Horiguchi by unanimous decision.

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