'I will get the belt back': Kyoji Horiguchi confident he'll beat Sergio Pettis, reclaim throne at Bellator 272

Kyoji Horiguchi has his eyes set on recapturing the Bellator bantamweight title.

On Friday, Horiguchi (29-3 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) will face bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis (21-5 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) in the main event of Bellator 272, hoping to recapture the title he never lost inside the cage.

The championship bout takes place at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., and airs on Showtime.

“He’s a very good fighter because he has the belt right now,” Horiguchi said about his opponent during Wednesday’s media day. “But I will get the belt back.”

Horiguchi vacated the title in 2019 after being sidelined with a knee injury. He recently told MMA Junkie that despite entering the cage as the challenger on Friday, he is the “real champion.”

“I have the confidence to fight with him regardless if he uses jiu-jitsu or not,” Horiguchi said through a translator about his Pettis’ potential approach to their fight. “I don’t get nervous and I don’t get pressure. A fight is a fight, you know? It’s simple and normal.”

While the majority of Horiguchi’s finishes have come by way of knockout, he has a few submission wins under his belt as well, which proves his level of confidence on the ground.

Horiguchi’s previous outing was a first round TKO finish of Kai Asakura at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan. Should Horiguchi get the job done and reclaim his title, would he like to defend the belt on home soil?

“That’s for the Bellator president to decide,” Horiguchi said. “It’s not my decision, but I want (that), you know?”

Watch the highlights of Horiguchi’s media day interview in the video above.