Demetrious Johnson Rules Out Rematch With RIZIN’s Kyoji Horiguchi
Demetrious Johnson sees no need to run things back with Kyoji Horiguchi.
When Johnson was the reigning UFC flyweight champion, he submitted Horiguchi with just one second remaining in their UFC 186 fight back in April 2015. That was his sixth title defense, and since then, “Mighty Mouse” would defend his title another five times for a total of 11 — a UFC record — before losing to Henry Cejudo last year.
Now at ONE Championship, where he enjoyed a successful debut at the promotion’s flyweight Grand Prix, Johnson is looking to add more gold to his collection. As for Horiguchi, he has not lost a single bout in his next 12 outings since that defeat to Johnson, and is the current RIZIN bantamweight champion.
With Johnson at ONE, a rematch is more than possible and would certainly be intriguing given how both fighters have continued to improve since their first meeting. However, Johnson doesn’t think it will happen:
“No I don’t think [I’d fight Horiguchi again],” Johnson told BJPenn.com. “I have my sights set on winning the ONE World Grand Prix and winning the belt. I think he’s more focused on going to Bellator and I’m more focused on keeping on competing here.
“And at the end of the day, I won the last fight, so there’s no reason I would seek out another fight with somebody I already beat. I’m looking to accomplish things I haven’t been able to accomplish yet. I love ONE Championship, I love what they do, I love what they stand for as a company, the way they treat their athletes.
“It’s an amazing company and I look forward to finishing off my career with them.”
Johnson seems pretty certain, but anything is possible in mixed martial arts (MMA).
