This edition of Fight Focus brings you an in depth break down of the upcoming Flyweight title fight between champion Demetrious Johnson and challenger Kyoji Horiguchi which takes place this Saturday at UFC 186 from the Bell Centre in Montreal.
Champion Mighty Mouse (21-2-1) looks to successfully defend his Flyweight championship this weekend as he takes on Japanese standout Kyoji Horiguchi (15-1). A lot has been said about this match up in regards to the champion being a powerhouse and the challenger not really being much competition as well as the usual 'flyweights are boring' and so forth but this fight has a lot of potential.
Let me tell you why, Mighty Mouse is the kingpin make no mistake about it. There are in differences in opinions as to whether he is the current P4P #1 probably due to the legitimacy of the 125lb division for now but many folk see him as untouchable, similar to the other two so called P4P greats Ronda Rousey and Jon Jones. The champion is good everywhere and he makes no mistake of letting his opponents knowing this. Wherever the fight goes he is more than happy to comply and give you a beating there. Has he ever looked out of his depth? maybe against Dominick Cruz but that was at a higher weight. When it comes to 125 he is the king.
So what threat does the challenger bring to the table for this fight? most definitely KO power. If and it's a big if, he is going to win this fight, Horiguchi is most likely going to knock Johnson out. Johnson is too well rounded and conditioned to be beaten by a decision so Horiguchi is going to have to KO him to win the belt. Can he do it? well, his record would suggest so and with two of his nine KO wins coming in the UFC, he can clearly 'bang' at the highest level. He can also grind out wins via decision which shows he has a credible gas tank for a three rounder but it's fair to say even if he was good for five rounds, he is never matching the champions ridiculous pace.
The odds favour Mighty Mouse hugely for this bout as he can win the fight everywhere where as looking at Horiguchi, it would have to be a KO or nothing. If Horiguchi is going to cause any concern to the champion at all, he's going to have to come out and push the pace from the off, not let Johnson work whilst loading up punches and looking to catch him. The problem is, Mighty Mouse has never really looked in trouble. Although many say Horiguchi is a huge prospect, there's being a 'prospect' and there's being an elite level fighter which I don't think many are convinced he is yet.
Will Mighty Mouse be too fast and flawless Saturday? Or can Horiguchi land on him? That's for you to decide but this fight really shouldn't be slept on that's for sure.
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