Horiguchi Faces No. 2 Kape for 125-Pound Title Shot at UFC Vegas 119
Updated
Updated · UFC · Jun 19
Horiguchi Faces No. 2 Kape for 125-Pound Title Shot at UFC Vegas 119
3 articles · Updated · UFC · Jun 19
Summary
No. 5 flyweight Kyoji Horiguchi meets No. 2 Manel Kape in Saturday’s Meta APEX main event, with the winner potentially moving within one fight of champion Joshua Van.
Two straight UFC wins over Tagir Ulanbekov and Amir Albazi put Horiguchi back in contention after his return, though he said the promotion has given him no formal title-shot guarantee.
Horiguchi beat Kape by third-round arm-triangle choke in their 2017 RIZIN meeting, but called this version of Kape “a new opponent” because of sharper technique, striking and takedown defense.
At 41 career fights and 11 UFC appearances, the former RIZIN flyweight and bantamweight champion and ex-Bellator bantamweight titleholder said his plan is to mix everything together and chase a finish.
The bout revives a nine-year-old rivalry while offering Horiguchi, more than a decade after his loss to Demetrious Johnson at UFC 186, a direct path back toward UFC championship gold.