Twitter reacts to Kyoji Horiguchi’s historic title win over Darrion Caldwell at Bellator 222

Kyoji Horiguchi made MMA history on Friday when he added the Bellator bantamweight title alongside his Rizin FF belt with a win over Darrion Caldwell at Bellator 222.

It was a grinder of a fight, but Horiguchi (28-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) was the more effective fighter. As a result, he was granted a unanimous-decision win over Caldwell (13-3 MMA, 10-2 BMMA) to claim the 135-pound belt in the main card contest, which took place at Madison Square Garden in New York and streamed on DAZN.

Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Horiguchi’s victory over Caldwell at Bellator 222.

* * * *

#Bellator222 main card is LIVE on DAZN. A championship rematch between Darrion Caldwell (@TheWolfMMA) and Kyoji Horiguchi (@kyoji1012) opens the six-fight lineup. https://t.co/fYdlmAPCcZ pic.twitter.com/eFR4bJHtvC

— MMA Junkie (@MMAjunkie) June 15, 2019

Kyoji Horiguchi out to "My Time" by Fabolous

Darrion Caldwell to "Victory (Remix)" by P. Diddy, Biggie, Busta Rhymes and 50 Cent. There was a second song but I couldn't make it out #Bellator222

— Damon Martin (@DamonMartin) June 15, 2019

#Bellator222 Bantamweight Title Closing Betting Odds:

Darrion Caldwell (-160) vs. Kyoji Horiguchi (+140)

💵 Live now -> @DAZN_USA, @mauroranallo @JohnMcCarthyMMA @BellatorMMA @MMAOddsBreaker

— Nick Kalikas (@FightOdds) June 15, 2019

Darrion Caldwell strikes early, gets Horiguchi to the canvass and goes to work. #Bellator222

— The Fight Nation (@TheFightNation) June 15, 2019

Horiguchi is sure throwing quite a few strikes to the back of Caldwell's head… #Bellator222

— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) June 15, 2019

A bit surprised Caldwell keeps going to the high crotch takedown after getting caught in the guillotine last time

— Jimmy Smith (@jimmysmithmma) June 15, 2019

Horiguchi is a mid-sized flyweight, fighting one of the biggest bantamweights, who also happens to be an NCAA division 1 national champion. Still unthinkable that he accepted an immediate rematch after beating him the first time.

— The Naked Gambler (@NakedGambling) June 15, 2019

Wasn't easy, but @TheWolfMMA scores that takedown in round two.

Watch the #Bellator222 main card with @DAZN_USA in the 🇺🇸 and @SkySports in the 🇬🇧. pic.twitter.com/9MYvYYN0i8

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) June 15, 2019

Playing out exactly like the first fight

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) June 15, 2019

20-18 Caldwell.
There's a champion vs. champion fight going on, but Gareth is more interested in the #Bellator222 PR action. pic.twitter.com/2kE9YO6kaP

— dan shapiro (@dannyshap) June 15, 2019

Going to be hard to sweep with butterfly hooks with an underhook as well.

— Luke Thomas (@lthomasnews) June 15, 2019

Caldwell needs that second wind. Kyoji sprawling well now. #Bellator222

— Seán Sheehan (@SeanSheehanBA) June 15, 2019

We've got a fight headed to the championship rounds. This fight may come down to R2, which saw Caldwell on top of Horiguchi but do nothing offensively. Horiguchi peppered Caldwell from the bottom. Round 3 was the best stretch by far, and it was Kyoji's.

— Josh Gross (@yay_yee) June 15, 2019

I’d give the third to Horiguchi. 2-1 Caldwell so far on my scorecard

— Jimmy Smith (@jimmysmithmma) June 15, 2019

Caldwell doing nothing. Lay and pray for the bell.

— Fight Ghost (@Fight_Ghost) June 15, 2019

Finally got my @DAZN_USA subscription to catch this @BellatorMMA fight. Caldwell/Horiguchi is a grinder of a fight so far

— Chris Camozzi (@ChrisCamozzi) June 15, 2019

Caldwell is dreadful so far. How disappointing.

— Suzanne Davis (@SoozieCuzie) June 15, 2019

2-2 going into the 5 and Caldwell is fading

— Jimmy Smith (@jimmysmithmma) June 15, 2019

2-2 #kyojicaldwell #bellator222

— Zachary Makovsky (@ZachFunSize) June 15, 2019

A fan is booing really loudly behind Scott Coker right now. #Bellator222

— Greg Rosenstein (@grosenstein) June 15, 2019

I am a darrion Caldwell fan, but how in the hell is this ref letting him sit in the same spot forever!

— Ben Askren (@Benaskren) June 15, 2019

4:11 stalling on top and the ref won’t stand them up 😲 #Bellator222

— Justin Gaethje 🇺🇸 (@Justin_Gaethje) June 15, 2019

That was awful. I understand winning at all cost but I feel robbed. What tf was that. #Bellator222

— Aljamain Sterling (@FunkMaster_UFC) June 15, 2019

Kyoji is a King!

— Din Thomas (@DinThomas) June 15, 2019

Congrats to the Gooch, who opted to hug Scott Coker before taking the belt from him.

Another version of champ-champ, right there. Japan stand up! #Bellator222

— Dan Tom (@DanTomMMA) June 15, 2019

So can we do Kyoji vs. DJ 2 or does One consider Bellator one of those western companies destroying the spirit of the ancient martial arts

— Dave Doyle (@davedoylemma) June 15, 2019

HISTORY! Kyoji Horiguchi becomes the first fighter in MMA history to titles from two major promotions simultaneously. #Bellator222

— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohnMMA) June 15, 2019

For complete coverage of Bellator 222, check out the MMA Events section of the site.

See the top Twitter reactions to Kyoji Horiguchi’s bantamweight title win over Darrion Caldwell at Bellator 222.