The “weight” is over for Bellator to fly.
For the first time since its inception 14 years ago — and 11 years after the UFC became the first major North American MMA organization to add the men’s 125-pound weight class — Bellator will award a flyweight championship when Kyoji Horiguchi and Makoto “Shinryu” Takahashi square off at Bellator X Rizin 2 on Saturday (11 p.m. Eastern, Showtime) at Saitama Super Arena in Japan.
The matchup pits Horiguchi (31-5, 19 finishes), a Bellator fighter who still holds Rizin’s bantamweight crown from his time with the Japan-based promotion, against Rizin’s young rising star Shinryu (16-1-1, four finishes) in the cross-promotional matchup.
Unlike the first Bellator X Rizin event, which was staged solely in a ring this past New Year’s Eve, this weekend’s return to Japan will be contested in a cage — before an intermission allows for a switch to a ring for an additional Rizin event.
Horiguchi, who in 2015 challenged flyweight great Demetrious Johnson for the UFC title, has fought largely at 135 pounds since departing the UFC with a 7-1 mark with the promotion from 2013-16.
Nevertheless, the 32-year-old made a successful return to 125 pounds with his third career victory over “The Ultimate Fighter” alumnus Hiromasa Ougikubo, earning a unanimous decision at the initial Bellator x Rizin event.
“I don’t feel different,” Horiguchi told The Post during a recent Zoom call regarding how he felt returning to the lower weight for the first time in five years. “Same thing: 125, 135. Very same.”
The 13-year veteran said he is pleased to be a part of the inaugural Bellator flyweight title fight, which comes three months after he was scheduled to meet fellow ex-UFC flyweight title challenger Ray Borg at 125 pounds.
Borg, who’s had a lengthy battle against the scale that has not always gone his way, faced weight management issues, and the fight was scrapped on the day of weigh-ins.
It stands to reason the winner would have moved on to this championship fight, but Borg’s subsequent release from Bellator and Horiguchi’s status as an elite fighter at both 125 and 135 pounds appeared to make him a no-brainer for the historic fight.
Horiguchi’s 23-year-old opponent Shinryu won’t be nearly as familiar to Western fight fans, but some may recall his Cage Fury FC flyweight title victory in Florida last November when he submitted Diego Paiva in the final round of their four-round championship fight.
The victory marked the third time in his last four bouts, and fourth out of six, that Shinryu picked up a win via submission.
“He’s a good fighter,” Horiguchi says of his upcoming opponent and fellow Japanese national. “But it doesn’t matter. I will beat him up.”