Horie seals back-to-back Rizin wins with brutal second-round elbow TKO over Usami

Yoshinori Horie claimed a commanding TKO victory over Sho Patrick Usami in the Rizin Fighting Federation: Landmark Vol. 16 main event in Nagasaki, Japan on Saturday, finishing the fight with a precise elbow and follow-up punches at the 3:37 mark of round two.

The bout carried an unusual pre-fight wrinkle: Usami came in heavy at the weigh-ins, and both camps agreed to move the contest up to 160 pounds rather than apply standard penalties such as point deductions or a no-contest ruling. The adjustment meant the fight began on an even footing despite the weight miss.

Horie (16-6, 7-3 Rizin) struggled to impose his grappling in the opening round, with his first two takedown attempts stuffed by Usami (9-6, 5-4 Rizin). Usami pulled guard and threatened with a guillotine choke, but Horie neutralised it by pressing his opponent’s head against the cage, then punished him with punches and knees from half-guard. Usami briefly stopped moving before recovering, and the round ended with him caught in another guillotine attempt.

The second round told a different story. Usami came forward aggressively and was dropped by a counter right hook from Horie, who spent the next three minutes working from his opponent’s guard. When Horie landed a sharp elbow directly to the bridge of Usami’s nose, Usami rolled over and covered up. A few additional punches prompted referee intervention, sealing the stoppage.

The win is Horie’s second in a row in 2026, following his TKO of Patricky Freire at Rizin Landmark Vol. 13 in April — widely regarded as the standout result of his career to date. Both victories have come after Horie fell short in his lightweight title challenge at Rizin 51.

In the featherweight co-feature, Viktor Kolesnik (28-6-1, 5-2 Rizin) recovered from a difficult first round to stop Koyomi Matsushima (15-9, 0-2 Rizin) early in the second. Matsushima had spent much of the opening stanza on Kolesnik’s back, attacking with face cranks, but a takedown attempt in round two left him exposed to a series of elbows that brought the fight to a close.