Kape sets flyweight KO record and calls out champion Van after UFC Vegas 119 win

Manel Kape knocked out Kyoji Horiguchi in the UFC Vegas 119 main event to set a new record for the most knockouts in UFC flyweight history, his sixth, while simultaneously avenging a defeat to Horiguchi from their RIZIN meeting in 2017. The finish extended Kape’s winning streak to four consecutive victories, every one of them by knockout.

“Of course, any victory makes anyone happy,” Kape said at the post-fight press conference. “This victory because this is revenge, I’m so happy because everything I’ve been working [on] worked out. When I was younger, I was wild. I was fearless. Time gives you wisdom. That time I was too young.”

The performance puts Kape in a strong position to challenge reigning flyweight champion Joshua Van, with whom he has already been trading barbs publicly after a rumoured matchup between the two earlier in the year fell through. Kape was blunt in his assessment of Van’s credentials.

“I just beat the guy [Brandon Royval] way better than him,” Kape said. “My resume is way better than him. He’s just in the position that he is because I broke my foot. He stepped ahead against Royval — a fight that he lost, but the knockdown stole the show. I knocked out Brandon Royval in the first round. He’s my kid. He’s my kid and I can’t wait to take his diaper.”

Kape also expressed confidence that a title fight would end the same way as his previous six UFC victories. “Of course [I knock him out],” he said. “Definitely.”

The path to a title shot may not be entirely straightforward, however. Former champion Alexandre Pantoja, who lost the belt to Van after a freak injury ended their fight in the first round, is reportedly nearing a return to competition. That scenario could set up a Pantoja-Van rematch before Kape gets his opportunity.

Kape, though, says he is not concerned about waiting. “It was enough,” he said of the Horiguchi win earning him a shot. “Even last time when I fought Brandon Royval, it was enough. Everything what I do in the cage, it was enough.”

Beyond the title picture, Kape has a longer-term milestone in his sights: surpassing Derrick Lewis for the most knockouts in UFC history across all divisions.