Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) flyweight title challengers Kyoji Horiguchi and Ali Bagautinov will still see their matchup come to fruition, as the promotion announced the two 125-pound contenders will now lock horns at UFC Fight Night 99 on Nov. 19 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, after seeing their original bout scrapped following UFC Fight Night 97's cancellation.
Once again, this is a super important bout for Bagautinov heading into 2016. After dropping losses to current UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson and divisional mainstay Joseph Benavidez from 2014-2015, the Russian ground-and-pound expert reentered the win column with a unanimous decision victory over Geane Herrera at UFC Fight Night 89 earlier this year. Remember, Bagautinov served a one-year suspension following his loss to "Mighty Mouse" after testing positive for EPO.
As for Horiguchi, who has won two-straight since losing to Johnson at UFC 186, defeating a proven contender in Bagautinov will land him right back in title contention entering next year. After all, Horguchi is just 26 years old and has compiled a 6-1 UFC record.
UFC Fight Night 99 will be headlined by a welterweight scrap between grappling wizard Gunnar Nelson and promotional veteran Dong Hyun Kim.