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The amazing spinning backfist by Sergio Pettis stuns Kyoji Horiguchi.
One of the best knockouts in MMA of the year was delivered bySergio Pettis, who stunned Kyoji Horiguchi with a spinning backfist to retain his title. (0:51)
12:57 AM
The fight was almost over before the fourth round. The striking battle was won by Kyoji Horiguchi. Pettis had no answers.
Until he did.
Pettis knocked Horiguchi out with a spinning-backfist knockout at 3 minutes, 24 seconds of the fourth round on Friday night. Pettis might have pulled off the best knockout of the year. Pettis had only four knockouts in 27 fights.
Pettis said in his postfight interview that he got beat up for four rounds. I was like, 'I'm losing this fight.' I have to do something spectacular. It came out at the right time.
In the fourth round, Pettis caught Horiguchi with a spinning backfist to retain his title.
Horiguchi ducked a Pettis right high kick as Pettis pressured him against the cage. Pettis continued his spin and whipped through a backfist with his left hand. Horiguchi took it on the chin. He was not breathing when he hit the ground.
Horiguchi was the former champion who never lost the belt in the cage, but he had to relinquish the title due to an injury. Horiguchi won the bantamweight title in Japan in December of 2020. He held the two titles at the same time. Horiguchi was signed by Bellator in September and the plan was for him to come back and regain the gold.
Pettis had other plans. Horiguchi dominated most of the fight and defeated Pettis 73-19. He landed hard calf kicks, moved in and out masterfully, and mixed in takedowns with ground and pound. Pettis couldn't hit Horiguchi with the lightning-fast, light-on-his-feet Horiguchi. Pettis was able to dictate the pace himself and put Horiguchi in a vulnerable position in the fourth. He capitalized on it.
Horiguchi was taken to the hospital.
After signing as a free agent from the UFC, Pettis has won five straight, including a win in Bellator. Pettis, a Milwaukee native and brother of a former UFC lightweight champion, won the bantamweight title by beating Juan Archuleta in May. Pettis made his debut in the UFC at the age of 20 and has since become an elite fighter.
Horiguchi, who is considered one of the best fighters in the world not in the UFC, stopped Kai Asakura in the first round to win the Rizin bantamweight title. The Japan native, who lives and trains in Florida, avenged a previous knockout loss to Asakura and has now been knocked out in two of his last three fights. Horiguchi had won 13 straight before this 1-2 stretch.
Horiguchi and Pettis will compete in a bantamweight grand-prix tournament in 2021, according to the announcement on the card. Archuleta, Patchy Mix, Magomed Magomedov, Leandro Higo, and James Gallagher are some of the other participants.
