Sergio Pettis and Kyoji Horiguchi are set to have a rematch at RIZIN 47 on June 9, with other matches including former champions Kleber Koike and Juan Archuleta, and a featherweight clash between Karshyga Dautbek and Tetsuya Seki.
So, here’s the scoop. Sergio Pettis and Kyoji Horiguchi are set for a rematch. It’s happening at RIZIN 47 on June 9, as announced by the company on Friday. The venue? Yoyogi First Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan.
But wait, there’s more. RIZIN also spilled the beans on a couple of other fights. Former champs Kleber Koike and Juan Archuleta are going head-to-head in a 145-pound showdown. Plus, there’s a featherweight clash on the cards between Karshyga Dautbek and Tetsuya Seki.
Remember Horiguchi? He had just snagged the RIZIN bantamweight title when he jetted off to Connecticut. He was there to challenge Pettis for the Bellator strap in December 2021. He was doing pretty well, winning all three rounds, until bam! A shocking knockout in the fourth. He recently claimed the inaugural RIZIN flyweight belt, but he’s moving back up to 135 pounds for the Pettis rematch.
Pettis, on the other hand, is making a comeback. His first match since losing the Bellator belt to Patchy Mix in November 2023. That loss ended a winning streak that had lasted nearly four years and spanned six fights. The former Bellator bantamweight champion has some impressive wins under his belt, including victories over Patricio Pitbull and Archuleta, post his UFC stint in 2019 where he beat Brandon Moreno and Joseph Benavidez.
Archuleta’s back in the featherweight division after losing his 135-pound title to Kai Asakura at RIZIN 45 on New Years’ Eve. The 36-year-old veteran, who held the Bellator bantamweight belt in 2020 after defeating Patchy Mix, had a brief run at 145 pounds in Bellator in the past, but fell short against champion Patricio Pitbull.
Koike’s got a bit of a story. He lost his RIZIN championship on the scale in June 2023, a day before choking out Chihiro Suzuki in under three minutes. But because he missed weight, his victory was overturned to a no-contest. After losing a decision to veteran Masanori Kanehara months later, he’s entering RIZIN 47 off of a third-round submission victory against Yutaka Saito.