'The Prince' Faces a Far East Icon in a High-Stakes Showdown
Amir Albazi is a prominent fighter from Iraq and worked his way up the Men’s Bantamweight Division to the sixth position. His nickname is ‘The Prince’, and he could indeed be royalty if he secures a seat in the top five! His opponent, Kyoji Horiguchi, is from Japan and, while not carrying a nickname like Amir, his time in the UFC has secured him an eighth position in the division itself. His record does boast an impressive feat of experience with 35-5-0, however, ‘The Prince’ cannot say the same. His record is 17-2-0. Although fights are not determined by experience alone, the Fight Nights at UFC APEX have just as much notoriety as main fight arenas, such as the Qudos Bank Arena, with records being rewritten for each victor who steps into its octagon.
The ambience generated by Amir is what has led him to get this far, with over half of his wins being from first-round finishes. Specifically, two of those nine first-round finishes came from submissions in his time with the UFC. His victories together reflect that he is an orthodox fighter with a mixed variety of skills. These skills could be a problem for Kyoji, who will find himself equally matched with Amir in terms of standing and ground defense. However, Amir is less proficient in landing significant strikes like Kyoji, making any prolonged standing encounter lethal. He could make use of his natural reach advantage to cancel out the chance of Kyoji connecting most of his strikes.
Kyoji will be looking for Albazi to keep a distance between the two of them and take advantage of his multiplied experience with successful takedowns. Likely, this will only be to interrupt the sequence of his opponent and not truly lead to a submission. The benefit of doing this would be gaining consecutive blows to the body and head of his opponent. For example, he could rain down hammer fists or even hook into the body to draw the breath out of his opponent. If he does not go to the ground with Amir, Horiguchi might try to go in close and use his fast-connecting punches to secure additional points if the fight goes to decision. This would reflect the past times he fought for a win in a three-round fight and won the decision.
Whether the fighters remain standing or go to the ground, the fight itself will depend upon factors like speed and tempo proven during the first round. Also, they only have three rounds to get in any significant strikes. Although the odds favour Kyoji as the winner, it should be no surprise, as this hero from the east has more developed techniques to strike accurately and quickly. The only concrete advantage that Amir has to counter the number of strikes obtained is his inherent reach. If utilized properly, he could turn the tide and decrease the amount of punishment he receives from Kyoji.
All signs point to Kyoji taking this one, especially if Amir has no answer for the relentless storm of quick, punishing shots Horiguchi is prepared to unleash. A full three-round affair seems likely, given that both fighters have consistently gone the distance in their most recent contests. Kyoji may see the same opportunity that gave him the submission win in his last fight by round three. The final outcome may be tough to call, but a decision win for Kyoji feels like the most likely result. The only way to know for sure is to catch the action live when UFC Fight Night kicks off at 8:00 PM EST on February 7th.
