Kape avenges 2017 submission loss by knocking out Horiguchi in UFC Vegas 119 main event

Manel Kape erased an eight-year defeat on Saturday night, knocking out Kyoji Horiguchi at 2:42 of the third round to claim the UFC Vegas 119 main event. The finish came via a brutal right hand that put the former RIZIN champion flat on the canvas, with referee Herb Dean waving it off immediately.

Kape had lost their first meeting in 2017 by third-round submission, and the rematch carried the weight of that unfinished business from the opening bell. A slow start threatened to repeat history — Horiguchi’s speed and precision kept Kape on the back foot through much of the first two rounds, and a sharp left hook in the second put Kape on wobbly legs before Horiguchi converted a takedown and worked from half-guard.

The third round began with Kape pressing forward, but Horiguchi cracked him with another hard counter that briefly halted his momentum. Then, in a single exchange, the fight turned. Kape landed a perfectly timed right hand that buckled Horiguchi badly. As Horiguchi fell, Kape swarmed with follow-up punches before delivering the finishing shot under Horiguchi’s arm that put him face-down on the mat.

“Kyoji’s an amazing fighter,” Kape said after the stoppage. “Maybe the best fighter I ever fought in my life. I want to be like him and if I’m here in this position it’s because of Kyoji.”

Kape also spoke to his own resilience throughout the contest. “One thing about me, I never give up. I face more adversity in life. I knew he was going to touch me at some point. One thing about me, if I touch you one time, believe me, you’re going to be dead.”

The victory was not the dominant, wire-to-wire performance Kape might have envisioned, but it delivered the emphatic finish he needed. Horiguchi, a decorated veteran who held titles across multiple promotions, gave Kape genuine problems for large stretches of the fight — making the third-round turnaround all the more striking.

The win marks Kape’s fourth finish in the UFC and cements his status as one of the flyweight division’s most dangerous finishers, even when he is being outworked on the scorecards.