Kyoji Horiguchi's UFC return delayed, Tagir Ulanbekov gets new opponent in Baku
Kyoji Horiguchi will have to wait a bit longer to make his return to the UFC cage.
The former UFC flyweight title challenger, former RIZIN champion and former Bellator champion Horiguchi is out of his scheduled octagon comeback fight against Tagir Ulanbekov at UFC on ABC 8 for undisclosed reasons.
Replacing him against Ulanbekov (16-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) on the June 21 card at Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan (ABC, ESPN, ESPN+) will be Azat Maksum (15-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC).
Two people with knowledge of the situation verified the new matchup to MMA Junkie following an initial report from Red Corner MMA.
Ulanbekov, 33, is riding a three-fight winning streak in the flyweight division, including two by finish. Maksum, 30, meanwhile, will attempt to rebound from his first career loss against Charles Johnson after starting his career with 15 consecutive victories.
The latest UFC on ABC 8 lineup now includes:
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
ESPN Viewers Praise 'First Take' For Molly Qerim Replacement
ESPN Viewers Praise 'First Take' For Molly Qerim Replacement originally appeared on The Spun. Molly Qerim wasn't leading the charge for "First Take" this Friday morning. The longtime ESPN host had the day off for undisclosed reasons. Qerim has been the host of "First Take" since 2015. She does an excellent job handling some of the most unpredictable personalities in sports TV, such as Stephen A. Smith, Chris "Mad Dog" Russo and Ryan Clark. "In addition to covering all the championship events, Qerim has a breadth of experience with celebrity red carpets, A-list musical and TV/film guest interviews, UFC/MMA coverage, tennis, boxing and more," Qerim's bio for ESPN states. "Off camera, Qerim is a philanthropist and ambassador for Boys and Girls Club of America, the Innocence Project and is an advocate for endometriosis awareness." With the NFL regular season around the corner, Qerim and the "First Take" crew will have plenty of topics to argue about. In the meantime, Peter Schrager is handling any training camp-related stories this Friday. Before this Friday's show kicked off, Schrager shared a photo of him on the set of "First Take." Judging by the reactions to Schrager's post, ESPN viewers want him to be the full-time host. "Please bring some integrity to this show. We look up to you for your honesty and journalism," one fan commented. "No screaming matches please!" Another fan said, "You should be the full-time host, Peter." "ESPN, please for the love of GOD, make this permanent," a third fan wrote. "That's awesome man, miss what GMFB used to be with you, Nate, Kay, and Kyle, but you deserve all of this, one of the best grinders in the business," a fourth fan said. Schrager, who recently worked for NFL Network, signed a multi-year agreement with ESPN in April. He's expected to appear on "Get Up" and "First Take" among other shows. "Peter will have an instant impact at ESPN combining his charismatic style and deep knowledge of the NFL," ESPN president of content Burke Magnus said. "His versatility is an asset and will be on display across our shows and platforms as he becomes a signature voice of our NFL coverage. He is a tremendous addition to our roster." Suffice to say, ESPN has big plans for Viewers Praise 'First Take' For Molly Qerim Replacement first appeared on The Spun on Jul 25, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Jul 25, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Daniel Cormier unsure Justin Gaethje's retirement threat will work with UFC
Daniel Cormier has questions about Justin Gaethje's approach with the UFC. Gaethje (26-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) is adamant he should be next in line for UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria after doing the promotion a solid on a couple of occasions. The issue for Gaethje is he's in the running with the likes of Max Holloway, Arman Tsarukyan, and possibly Paddy Pimblett, as well. Gaethje said if the UFC tries to match him up with Pimblett, he doesn't believe they need him anymore. He even threatened to retire if he doesn't get his way, which UFC CEO Dana White called "pretty whacky." Cormier advises Gaethje against making ultimatums with the UFC. "It sounds like he's more than willing now to stand by that and be done," Cormier said on his YouTube channel. "That would suck because MMA is better when Justin Gaethje is fighting. We just had to watch Dustin Poirier retire last weekend and that absolutely sucked. So, what's going to happen this time? We have to walk away from Justin Gaethje, too? That era of fighters that we all fell in love with so much are starting to take the curtain call and go, 'Hey, my time is done. This game is done with me or I'm done with this game.' "Justin seems very, very stern in the idea that if he has to fight Paddy Pimblett, and that's the only option, he's not going to do it. That sucks because I don't know that it's going to make the UFC say, 'We have to give Justin Gaethje a title fight.' I don't know that they're going to do that, especially when you go through all the things that Arman has a case, Paddy has a case." In a recent interview, Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) said he thinks his first title challenger will either be Gaethje or Pimblett, who he faced off with in the octagon after knocking out Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 in June. This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Justin Gaethje threatening UFC probably won't work, says Daniel Cormier
USA Today
31 minutes ago
- USA Today
Daniel Cormier unsure Justin Gaethje's retirement threat will work with UFC
Daniel Cormier has questions about Justin Gaethje's approach with the UFC. Gaethje (26-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) is adamant he should be next in line for UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria after doing the promotion a solid on a couple of occasions. The issue for Gaethje is he's in the running with the likes of Max Holloway, Arman Tsarukyan, and possibly Paddy Pimblett, as well. Gaethje said if the UFC tries to match him up with Pimblett, he doesn't believe they need him anymore. He even threatened to retire if he doesn't get his way, which UFC CEO Dana White called "pretty whacky." Cormier advises Gaethje against making ultimatums with the UFC. "It sounds like he's more than willing now to stand by that and be done," Cormier said on his YouTube channel. "That would suck because MMA is better when Justin Gaethje is fighting. We just had to watch Dustin Poirier retire last weekend and that absolutely sucked. So, what's going to happen this time? We have to walk away from Justin Gaethje, too? That era of fighters that we all fell in love with so much are starting to take the curtain call and go, 'Hey, my time is done. This game is done with me or I'm done with this game.' "Justin seems very, very stern in the idea that if he has to fight Paddy Pimblett, and that's the only option, he's not going to do it. That sucks because I don't know that it's going to make the UFC say, 'We have to give Justin Gaethje a title fight.' I don't know that they're going to do that, especially when you go through all the things that Arman has a case, Paddy has a case." In a recent interview, Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) said he thinks his first title challenger will either be Gaethje or Pimblett, who he faced off with in the octagon after knocking out Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 in June.
