2023 Rewind: MMA Fighter Won't be Shamed for Adult Vid: 'I've Gone International'
This piece is part of EDGE's 2023 Rewind series. We're reaching into our archives and sharing some of our favorite stories from the past year.
MMA fighter Yoshinori Horie spoke out about having been tricked into making a adult video, saying, "I've gone international for those who want to see my junk so I'm used to expressing myself now," Asian MMA reported.
The 27-year-old fighter was speaking with Rizin Confessions when he revisited a moment in his life when he participated in gay sex that was captured on video and went viral.
"I got tricked into that video without being prepared," Horie recounted. "I was walking in Shibuya with my friend when a guy came up to me and said I'm good looking and told me my privacy would be guaranteed, which was a lie."
Asian MMA recalled that "Horie admitted to receiving a sex act from another man in a series of tweets in 2021," and speculated, "Presumably he is referring to the same incident in this footage which was filmed in the buildup to and aftermath of Rizin 41..."
But his fighting spirit was undimmed from the breach of trust.
"I have exposed myself fully butt naked," Horie acknowledged. "I feel much stronger because of that incident," the fighter added. "I have less fears now. I've gone international for those who want to see my junk so I'm used to expressing myself now."
As for those who tricked him, he added: "Those guys can live in shame after watching this. Guys like me can walk around proudly."
Horie did say that he was annoyed at having been given the sobriquet "Future Boy," and the reason for that, he explained, is that "Future Boy is the name of the company who tricked me into starring in that porno. So I think it's wrong to use that nickname."
As previously reported, the fighter first recounted his inadvertent starring role in the viral video in tweets posted Dec. 25, 2021. "Five years ago, when I was with a friend, I was told that I could get money just by h*ndjob in Shibuya," he recalled.
But, Horie suggested, it wasn't as simple as what he'd been led to expect; he recounted that he was "told to hide my face" and said that he "was deceived in various ways."
Horie, who said that he's heterosexual, explained that he was driven to the actions he agreed to out of a need for money so that he could pursue his career as an MMA fighter.
"I got 20,000 yen" — about $174 — "in less than an hour," Horie recounted at the time, "but it was pretty big!"
As for his recent fortunes in the ring, "Horie saw his three fight winning streak snapped by Vugar Karamov at Rizin 41," Asian MMA noted. The two squared off in the featherweight division of the MMA event, which took place April 1 in Osaka.
Check out some of the thirst traps Horie has posted to social media.