The coronavirus may have forced them apart for the time being, but the relationship between Bellator and Kyoji Horiguchi is far from over. Horiguchi (29-3) reached his career apex when he defeated Darrion Caldwell twice to win the Rizin FF and Bellator bantamweight belts and become a simultaneous two-promotion champion in 2019. But a shock defeat to Kai Asakura in a non-title fight was followed by a lengthy spell on the sidelines rehabbing a knee injury, and Horiguchi relinquished both titles. During that time, the COVID-19 pandemic struck, grounding a significant amount of international travel and preventing Bellator from continuing its ongoing collaboration with Rizin. But with the global rollout of vaccines and the gradual easing of travel restrictions, Bellator president Scott Coker said he’s keen for Bellator to return to Japan when it’s safe to do so. He also said he’d love to get Horiguchi back into the Bellator cage, where he hopes he’ll challenge for the bantamweight title once again
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