UFC 182 results recap: Kyoji Horiguchi vs Louis Gaudinot fight review and analysis

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) flyweights Kyoji Horiguchi and Louis Gaudinot dueled last night (Sat., Jan. 3, 2015) at UFC 182 inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Horiguchi carried a lot of pressure with him into the Octagon. As one of Japan's brightest prospects, the Karate striker needed a dominant performance in his first showing on a pay-per-view (PPV) main card.

On the other hand, Gaudinot had his back against the wall coming into this bout. With an official UFC record of 1-2 (1), he likely had to secure the victory in order to have confidence in his future employment.

After last night, his future is uncertain.

Though there wasn't a ton of action, the first round was pretty interesting. The two men largely traded low kicks, which often landed hard on the fleet-footed flyweights.

Overall, Gaudinot landed the cleaner shots in most exchanges, but it was far from dominant. At the end of the round, Horiguchi looked for a slick clinch takedown, which was defended by an equally skilled maneuver from "Goodnight."

Horiguchi landed a nice kick and combination to start the second round. The Japanese fighter continued to land the cleaner punches, before Gaudinot attempted to jump on a standing arm triangle. It looked tight momentarily, but Horiguchi escaped before long.

Horiguchi really took control of the stand up. He landed some sharp combinations -- including a violent one up against the fence -- and frequently countered Gaudinot's attempts to engage. Horiguchi had relaxed and opened up, and it was working quite well for him.

Gaudinot attempted to reclaim the momentum at the start of the third, but he was not able to achieve much. Instead, Horiguchi avoided many of his blows and waited for opportunities to burst into heavy combinations.

Though his opponent attempted to get something going, Horiguchi largely shut down his opponent's offense. Even when Gaudinot looked to jump onto a guillotine, one of his signature techniques, he was quickly shaken off. With that round clearly in the bags, Horiguchi secured the victory.

Horiguchi continued to build momentum in the UFC's flyweight division. At 4-0, Horiguchi is already fairly close to the top of the division, but he needs a couple more key victories.

In this bout, Horiguchi fought an opponent willing to play his game and was just the superior Karate fighter of the two. In addition, he was quicker and more powerful. Once he made his adjustments and took control of the center of the cage, Horiguchi never gave back the reigns.

The UFC will likely continue to bring Horiguchi along at a measured pace. He's still just 24 years old, so a bout with someone like Chico Camus would make sense.

Gaudinot was simply outgunned. He did a good job in the first round and his leg kicks were effective throughout the bout, but his opponent was just a touch better in each area. To his credit, Gaudinot did aggressively search for the submission, even if nothing materialized.

Although Gaudinot lost, he was competitive with a top prospect. That should prove that he's worthy of his position in the division, so he may get another bout. If that's the case, expect Gaudinot to face off with a lower ranked flyweight such as Jon Delos Reyes.

At UFC 182, Kyoji Horiguchi out-struck Louis Gaudinot across three rounds. How high can the Japanese flyweight climb in the 125 lbs. division?

For complete UFC 182 "Jones vs Cormier" results and play-by-play, click HERE.