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Kyoji Horiguchi got his revenge.

On Sunday, Horiguchi faced off with Sergio Pettis at the Yoyogi National Stadium in the main event of RIZIN 47 in Tokyo, winning a unanimous decision victory to avenge his 2021 loss to Pettis in Bellator.

Horiguchi and Pettis first fought each other in 2021 at Bellator 272, where Pettis pulled off a spinning backfist knockout to claim the Bellator bantamweight title after losing much of the first three rounds. A similar dynamic took place in this matchup as Horiguchi mixed his striking and wrestling to great effect, keeping Pettis off balance and winning the first two rounds.

Things heated up in the third round though as Pettis came on strong, even managing to knock Horiguchi down with a short hook as the RIZIN flyweight champion charged in. Horiguchi survived the bad spot though and took home a unanimous decision on the cards.

Check out highlights of the main event below.

In the co-main event, former Bellator and RIZIN bantamweight champion Juan Archuleta was submitted by former RIZIN featherweight champion Kleber Koike Erbst with a a slick heel hook submission.

Archuleta caught a lazy kick from Erbst to score a takedown, but Erbst immediately rolled to attack the legs, and after a funky scramble, the Japanese fighter found a heel hook to swiftly secure the tap out from Archuleta.

Elsewhere on the card, Przemyslaw Kowalczyk pulled off a nifty armbar on Mikio Ueda, moving the 25-year-old undefeated heavyweight prospect to 4-0 in his professional career, Razhabali Shaydullaaev moved to 10-0 with a first-round rear-naked choke against Koji Takeda, and Bellator veteran Spike Carlyle got back to his winning ways with a first-round rear-naked choke of Kyung Pyo Kim.

Check out the rest of the RIZIN 47 highlights and full results below.

Main Card

• Kyoji Horiguchi def. Sergio Pettis via unanimous decision
• Bleber Koike Erbst def. Juan Archuleta via submission (heel hook) — Round 1, 2:08
• Przemyslaw Kowalczyk def. Mikio Ueda via submission (armbar) — Round 1, 2:08
• Razhabali Shaydullaev def. Koji Takeda via submission (rear-naked choke) — Round 1, 4:43
• Spike Carlyle def. Kyung Pyo Kim via submission (rear-naked choke) — Round 3, 1:11
• Karshyga Dautbek def. Tetsuya Seki via KO (body shot) — Round 1, 3:11
• Noah Bey def. Johnny Case via unanimous decision
• Genji Umeno def. Mamoru Uoi via unanimous decision (modified kickboxing match)
• Sho Patrick Usami def. Kazuki Tokudome via TKO (punches) — Round 1, 2:29

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Dana White isn’t an actor but sometimes he plays one on TV … or at least on podcasts.

Back in February, in the days leading up to UFC 298, the UFC CEO was going through a typical pre-fight “car wash,” where he’ll make appearances on a slew of podcasts and radio shows to promote an event. In doing so, White made headlines by joining comedian Howie Mandel on his podcast before proclaiming seconds into the interview, “I am so f*cking tired of doing podcasts.” White then removed his headphones and walked out of the studio.

Mandel and his other guests sat there in stunned silence for a few moments as White exited. Now, months later, White revealed that the whole thing was actually a setup that he did as a favor for Mandel after meeting him that same day.

“So what happened was I did the Sage Steele podcast when she called me Joe Rogan,” White said during an appearance on the Flagrant podcast. “First of all, Sage Steele and I are good friends, I love Sage. She asked me to be her first guest on the podcast, so I go out there. Now, the studio is owned by Howie Mandel where these podcasts take place. She was signed to Bill Maher’s podcast company and they’re all done there in Howie Mandel’s studio. So we get done with the podcast and Howie Mandel walks in and he’s like, ‘100 podcasts a week happen here, I’ve never watched any of them. I watched the whole podcast, love who you are, what you stand for,’ and all this stuff. We hit it off, started talking. Great dude.

“So he’s like, ‘Let me show you around the studio.’ He’s involved in all kinds of shit. He owns social media companies and all this other stuff. Howie Mandel owns a lot of shit that people don’t realize. Smart guy, great guy. So we’re walking through and stuff and he goes, ‘Would you do me a favor?’ I said, ‘Yeah, what’s up?’ He’s like, ‘Would you come in and get up and walk off my podcast?’ I go, ‘I would be f*cking honored to walk off your podcast because I’m so f*cking sick of doing podcasts, it’s not funny.’

“We go in there and do it, right? He’s like, ‘Take this to the grave.’ I said, ‘Done, I’ll take it to the grave.”

Obviously, White didn’t take that secret to his grave. So why is he giving up on the bit now after the setup worked so well?

As it turns out, White was out doing a separate appearance when a room full of fans began an anti-Mandel chant out of loyalty to White, and he couldn’t let that stand. So now White is telling the true story behind the podcast walkout while assuring anybody listening that Mandel did absolutely nothing wrong and deserves no blowback from his fans.

“I go do this thing with the Nelk Boys, we’re doing this ‘Monkeybomb’ f*cking tour, the whole f*cking crowd starts chanting, ‘F*ck Howie Mandel!’” White said. “I go, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa, timeout, I can’t do this.’

“Howie Mandel’s the f*cking greatest dude ever. Sorry, Howie. It’s just when I go out and people just start f*cking shitting on the guy — and I’m sure he could give a flying f*ck — I couldn’t do it. So Howie Mandel’s f*cking awesome.”

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stoppage was whack
| BJPenn.com

Watch out, Mike Tyson, you aren’t the only old boxer trying to box fighters in their 20s.

During the RIZIN 47 broadcast last night (Sat., June 8, 2024), boxing legend Manny Pacquiao announced that he will be returning to competition against RIZIN Featherweight champion Chihiro Suzuki in a boxing match at Super RIZIN 3. The fight will go down on July 28 from inside the iconic Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Check out his announcement below!

Pacquiao isn’t the only boxing legend to fight in RIZIN. Floyd Mayweather already checked that box in 2018.

Pacquiao, 45, has been retired from professional boxing since his unanimous decision loss to Yordenis Ugas in 2021. However, he took part in two exhibition boxing matches in 2022, winning both. He teased a rematch with Mayweather in January, but nothing has come of that.

A few hours before the big announcement, ESPN reported that Pacquiao is exploring a fall title bout vs. Mario Barrios.

Suzuki, 25, has been on an absolute roll as of late, knocking out everyone in sight, including Patricio Pitbull (watch highlights). He is currently the RIZIN Featherweight champion and is riding an eight-fight win streak, with a no-contest thrown in there.
The Japanese fighter is currently booked to box mixed martial arts legend Takanori Gomi at Knock Out 2024 Super Bout: Blaze in Toyko, Japan.

On top of this wacky boxing match, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) will start its partnership with RIZIN at Super RIZIN 3.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Sean O’Malley wasn’t trying to beef with Conor McGregor, but as the old saying goes – work until your idols become your rivals.

Back in May, McGregor unleashed a tirade on social media where he blasted boxer Ryan Garcia after he tested positive for the banned substance ostarine following an impressive win over Devin Haney. In the same message, O’Malley got caught with a stray after McGregor decided to pair him alongside Garcia because the now UFC bantamweight champion also tested positive for the same substance in 2019.

A few weeks later, McGregor walked back some of those comments during a live stream when he said “I like Sean O’Malley” and explaining he “kind of got caught in the crosshairs” when he was spouting off about Garcia’s situation.

Despite saying he hashed things out with McGregor privately, O’Malley still hasn’t spoken to the former two-division UFC champion, but he remains a fan — even if they may be at odds with each other right now.

“I jokingly on my podcast said we talked, we’re good,” O’Malley told MMA Fighting. “I haven’t talked to him since.

“I’ll forever be a massive Conor fan. The biggest fan, watched his career play out, watched every single interview possible. I learned a ton from him. He’s a legend. That’s it. It is what it is.”

O’Malley believes McGregor actually regretted his unprovoked attack on social media, which is why the message on Twitter was eventually deleted.

As much as McGregor attempted to justify his comments because O’Malley just so happened to test positive for the same substance as Garcia, there really was no reason to point the finger at him, outside of that being the highest profile athlete available at the time.

For his part, O’Malley isn’t wasting much time worrying about what McGregor had to say about him but he’s also not holding onto some sort of grudge.

“I tried [to hate him]. I was like f*ck Conor, but it is what it is,” O’Malley said. “I think he realized what he said was stupid. I don’t know why he tried putting me and Ryan Garcia in the same category, saying Ryan Garcia missed weight and it made him mad about me. It just didn’t make sense.

“I think he kind of realized what he said was stupid and then just backed himself into a corner.”

When he initially reacted to McGregor’s insults, O’Malley turned his back on the Irish superstar and suddenly decided that he would root for Michael Chandler to “absolutely sleep him” when they clash at UFC 303.

Even though they haven’t spoken and it’s tough to tell if those fences will eventually get mended, O’Malley admits it would be hard for him not to back McGregor when he returns to action for the first time in three years.

“We’ll see [who wins],” O’Malley said. “It’s hard for me not to [root for him], if Conor goes out there, and knocks him out, it would be wild. It would just build another big Conor fight and the more Conor fights, the better.”

As far as potentially settling their difference in the octagon, McGregor scoffed at O’Malley’s suggestion that he would win a fight between them while saying that’s not possible “in his wildest dreams.”

O’Malley isn’t walking back that prediction and even if he still appreciates the influence that McGregor had on his career, he’s certainly not opposed to eventually setting up that showdown in the UFC.

“I wouldn’t turn down a Conor fight,” O’Malley said.

First things first, McGregor has to make his return at UFC 303 and O’Malley has his own business to handle with a title fight expected against Merab Dvalishvili later this year, but perhaps this really does set the stage for an eventual fight between them.

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Former undisputed light heavyweight champion, Jiri Prochazka has confirmed he has penned a bout agreement to make a return to the UFC later this year, amid continued links to a rematch title fight against incumbent gold holder, Alex Pereira.

Prochazka, the current number one ranked divisional contender, most recently featured at UFC 300 back in April, returning to the winner’s enclosure in an impressive come-from-behind victory.

Taking on fellow European talent, Aleksandar Rakic in a title-eliminator at 205lbs, former Rizin FF champion, Prochazka rallied to land an impressive second round knockout win – before staking his claim for a shot at the division throne for a third time.

In the night’s main event, former middleweight champion, Pereira successfully defended his light heavyweight crown for the first time, himself dispatching Jahamah Hill with a devastating opening round KO win.

Confirming plans to take on Jiri Prochazka in a rematch fight in his return to the Octagon, Sao Paulo knockout artist, Pereira revealed as recently as UFC 302 last weekend, how he had hoped to compete as soon as August, with the promotion slated to return to Australia for a UFC 305 pay-per-view event in Perth.

Jiri Prochazka confirms deal to make UFC comeback

Appearing at OKTAGON MMA 58 overnight in his native Czech Republic, Prochazka refused to be drawn on speculation linking him with a short-notice fight against the above-mentioned, Pereira at UFC 303 in just weeks time, but confirmed he had signed a bout agreement to make a comeback.

Headlining UFC 295 on short-notice last November, Prochazka took on Pereira in a vacant light heavyweight title fight, dropping an eventual second round knockout loss to the former two-division champion. 

Winning light heavyweight spoils two years ago in Singapore, Prochazka rallied to stop Pereira’s close friend and training partner, Glover Teixeira with a stunning rear-naked choke – sans hooks in his first title victory since landing in the UFC.

Do you think Jiri Prochazka will take on Alex Pereira in a title rematch next?

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