When asked for his thoughts on Horiguchi’s return to the UFC, which has brought him back into the flyweight prospect conversation in a big way, Dustin Pague said [via Bare Knuckle Bowker],
“That kid is a stud, man. He’s a tough little fighter. Yeah, my journey has been crazy. I mean, I’ve fought some of the best fighters in the world. TJ Dillashaw becoming a champion. Like Din Thomas having a great UFC career and fighting tough guys in the UFC. Like it’s been a long journey and you know, a lot of great stories, a lot of great moments, a lot of things that I would have done differently too. But you know, you live and you learn.”
“I really believe that, you know, if I didn’t have the hand of the Lord in my life, who knows where I would be. You know, I believe that He has blessed me. He has guided me in my footsteps and really put the right people and just the right timing in my life for these amazing opportunities and these platforms that I’ve been on. So I always like to give God the credit for where I am today because without Him, I don’t know where I would be.”
Kyoji Horiguchi “showed me some tricks” to “smash their damn heads in” according to ATT teammate and current Rizin champion
Kyoji Horiguchi has a strong history with American Top Team, and the former Rizin bantamweight champion continues to shape the path of the current RFF 135-pound titleholder. Danny Sabatello picked the brain of Horiguchi, who clearly has a nuanced and knowledgeable familiarity with the Rizin Rules, and when he dug a little into that advice from the ATT compatriot, Danny Sabatello said [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“Yes, all the time specifically with Kyoji [Horiguchi] especially because he understood those Rizin rules. We have another Japanese fighter from the UFC, Rinya [Nakamura] who has also been there. Then we have a lot of Rizin guys who have just been promoted to the American Top Team… But I always pick the brains of those guys. I pick everyone’s brains in the gym. You know, obviously I talk trash to my opponent, and I talk trash to a lot of fans.
But ultimately, when I’m in the gym, I’m there to get better. Understand better techniques and skills. A guy like Kyoji is someone who brings that to the table for me. You know, right when I started at American Top Team, he was one of the first friends I had there. What better guy than Japan’s absolute superstar, Kyoji, to help me? So he will always continue to help me. But you know, sometimes you just gotta get in that ring and just kind of feel things.
“The best student and the best person to impart knowledge is experience. Now that I’ve had three fights in that Rizin ring, I feel like I’ve really understood the skills and the in-n-outs of that ring. You know, it’s obviously a lot different than the American promotions, but at the end of the day, it’s a fight. I’m going out there to stomp this guy in the head.”
“It just so happens that I can do that while he’s on the ground, which makes me an even more fun fighter, which makes the fans even happier. You know, when you get on the ground in these positions, you can obviously hit the guy from all different angles. It’s more fun for everyone.”
“Kyoji showed me some tricks and some techniques that I can use on the ground when there’s someone there and you can bash their damn head in, especially in the front headlock. You don’t have to quickly go after someone and get to your positions. You can knee them in the damn head, which is absolutely huge there.”
“But yeah, Kyoji and a lot of those guys at American Top Team, since we have an abundance of them Rodethey always help me. I always help them. Obviously, you leave your ego at the door of that gym. When you have high level gyms you leave your ego at the door and that’s what everyone does.
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