UFC 182 results: Kyoji Horiguchi defeats Louis Gaudinot via decision in fast-paced Flyweight fight

Kyoji Horiguchi was looking to make it four straight wins inside the Octagon tonight (Jan. 3, 2015) since his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut, taking on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 14 alum, Louis Gaudinot, at UFC 182 from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

And he did.

As is the case with most 125-pound fighters, Horiguchi and Gaudinot came out bouncing. Horiguchi got the action started with a leg kick and Gaudinot returned fire with one of his own moments later. It took about two minutes before both men exchanged punches, but that's also when the action (not the pace) began to pick up.

Gaudinot caught Horiguchi with a nice counter attack, followed by a kick to the body. He appeared to be landing the more meaningful shots early, with Horiguchi doing little in terms of effective offense. He did land a nice kick to the body with about one minute remaining in the round, but it seemed as though Gaudinot did more to win the opening frame.

To start the second, Horiguchi landed a solid straight right that wobbled Gaudinot and split him open below the left eye. As the action continued, Gaudinot locked-in a neat standing arm-triangle choke, but he soon let it go as Horiguchi worked himself free. Once the fight returned to the center of the cage, Horiguchi landed a nice right cross and a kick to the belly that, if nothing else, scored points on the judges scorecards.

Horiguchi then landed a flush foot to the face of Gaudinot, but it did not appear to have much affect. Things began to open up with one minute remaining in the second as Gaudinot appeared to try and steal a round that he clearly did not win.

With the fight most likely split heading into the third and final round, whoever took the final frame would likely leave "Sin City" a winner. Feeling the pressure, Gaudinot uncorked a short right cross that had an audible impact. Horiguchi, however, continued to bounce around like it was the first round.

Horiguchi continued to land the better shots, making Gaudinot retreat and cover up numerous times. Gaudinot tried to land several fight-ending punches, but Horiguchi was gone before they got there. He tried another standing choke with about one minute remaining in the fight, but once again, it didn't materialize.

It ended with a Horiguchi left to the jaw and a decision that would have to be determined by the judges, who scored it in favor of the favorite (29-28, 30-27 and 30-27).

With two finishes in four attempts, Horiguchi is making a serious case that he deserves to be ranked among the Flyweight Top 10 (he currently sits at No. 11). Gaudinot, meanwhile, is winless in his last three bouts (0-2-1) and has a recent drug test failure on his resume.

Not a good look. Neither is that green hair.

For complete UFC 182 results, including play-by-play coverage of the entire 11-match pay-per-view (PPV) card, click here.