Almabayev vs Horiguchi: Both Won in Doha a Year Ago

By ranking, this is the strongest fight in Doha outside the main and co-main: Asu Almabayev, seventh at flyweight, against Kyoji Horiguchi, fifth. Both fought here last November, on the first UFC card in Qatar, and both left with a third-round submission — Almabayev with a guillotine on Alex Perez, Horiguchi with a choke on Tagir Ulanbekov that earned a bonus.

Horiguchi, 36, is the most decorated man on the card: former Bellator bantamweight champion, two-time RIZIN bantamweight champion, RIZIN flyweight champion and winner of the 2017 RIZIN Grand Prix, with 36 wins and 15 knockouts.

Almabayev, 32, builds everything off his grappling: 24 wins, eleven by submission. He has won his last three, the last two on the mat in round three.

One man has stopped them both: Manel Kape, who stopped Almabayev in March 2025 — the only loss of his UFC run — and Horiguchi in the third round in June. Kape is No. 2 in the flyweight rankings, with Horiguchi at No. 5 and Almabayev at No. 7. UFC Fight Night Doha tickets.