Nearly a decade later, Manel Kape has his revenge and a statement for a potential flyweight title fight. Kape defeated Kyoji Horiguchi via third-round TKO in the main event of UFC Vegas 119.
Kape took to the center of the Octagon, keeping Horiguchi at bay with low kicks and the right hand as he felt out his familiar foe. Horiguchi, however, landed some body kicks during the opening round before getting a takedown at the round’s end.
Horiguchi caught Kape early in the second with a left hand, then landed another takedown. Despite Kape’s efforts from the bottom, Horiguchi dominated from the top position throughout the frame.
Kape looked to be a little more aggressive in the third, but Horiguchi landed a couple of strong shots early. Kape, however, caught Horiguchi with a counter right that wobbled him.
Kape went to work with ground-and-pound on Horiguchi, scoring the finish with an uppercut from behind that caused Horiguchi to faceplant.
Manel Kape Finishes Kyoji Horiguchi At UFC Vegas 119
This fight served as a rematch from the pair’s meeting in RIZIN on New Year’s Eve 2017. Competing in the RIZIN Bantamweight Grand Prix, Horiguchi finished Kape and went on to win the tournament that night.
Kape has now won four straight and is 8-3 in the UFC. Kape, who now has the most knockouts in UFC flyweight history, entered this fight off a finish of former title challenger Brandon Royval in December.
This is Horiguchi’s first loss in his second run with the UFC and marks his first loss since his 2022 loss to Patchy Mix in Bellator. He returned in November with a submission win over Tagir Ulanbekov before a decision win over Amir Albazi in February.