UFC Vegas 119 тэмцээний гол тулаанд Манел Капе Киожи Хоригучиг гуравдугаар раундад хүнд цохилтоор ялж, 2017 онд хүлээсэн ялагдлынхаа хариуг авлаа.
Тулааны эхний хоёр раунд өрсөлдөөнтэй өрнөж, Хоригучи хүчтэй цохилт болон газрын тулаанаар давуу тал үүсгэхийг оролдож байв. Гэвч гуравдугаар раундад Манел Капе сөрөг довтолгооны үеэр баруун гараараа оновчтой цохилт өгч өрсөлдөгчөө савлуулсан юм. Улмаар газар дээрх дайралтаа үргэлжлүүлэн, шүүгч Херб Дийн тулааныг 2:42 минутад зогсоосноор Капе нокаутаар ялалт байгууллаа.
Тулааны дараа Капе өрсөлдөгчөө өөрийн карьерын хамгийн шилдэг тулаанч хэмээн үнэлээд, энэ ялалтынхаа ачаар аваргын бүсний төлөө өрсөлдөх эрхтэй болсон гэдэгтээ итгэлтэй байгаагаа илэрхийлжээ. Ийнхүү тэрээр UFC-д дараалан дөрвөн удаа нокаутаар ялсан амжилтаа үргэлжлүүлж байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JUNE 20: (L-R) Manel Kape of Angola punches Kyoji Horiguchi of Japan in a flyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Meta APEX on June 20, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Manel Kape had to wait nearly a decade but he finally avenged his past loss to Kyoji Horiguchi when he delivered a vicious knockout in the third round in the UFC Vegas 119 main event.
Kape fell to Horiguchi in their first encounter back in 2017 when he suffered a third round submission loss so there was a lot riding on the rematch on Saturday. A slow start had Kape down early but he finally found an opening with a perfectly timed counter right hand that wobbled Horiguchi badly during a striking exchange on the feet.
Kape took advantage after Horiguchi fell to the ground as he started blasting away with punches. He finally ended it after he threw a shot under Horiguchi’s arm and that flattened him on the mat as referee Herb Dean stopped the fight with the end coming at 2:42 in the third round.
“Kyoji’s an amazing fighter,” Kape said after the win. “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.
“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.
After trading some kicks early, Horiguchi connected with a stiff punch but Kape fired back with one of his own and it briefly wobbled the former RIZIN champion. On the reset, Horiguchi showed off his blinding speed but Kape was just biding his time to set up his striking combinations.
Kape shrugged off a couple of takedown attempts but Horiguchi did slip through with a nasty body kick just before the round ended.
On the restart, Horiguchi connected with a left hook that caught Kape off guard and put him on wobbly legs momentarily. That led to a takedown from Horiguchi before moving into half-guard where he started to apply his ground game.
While he was holding onto Horiguchi to prevent him from getting much room to work, Kape did manage to throw several slicing elbows to the top of the head. But Horiguchi maintained control as he tacked on a round to his scorecard.
As the fight moved into the third round, Kape started to get loose with his striking as he came out gunning for Horiguchi. Just when it looked like Kape was gaining momentum, Horiguchi cracked him with a hard counter shot that immediately hit the pause button on “Starboy.”
Just when it looked like Horiguchi was taking over, Kape hammered him with a brutal right hand and that immediately put the Japanese veteran on rubber legs. A second later, Kape had Horiguchi down on the ground just eating punches in succession.
Kape finally ended it with a shot that put Horiguchi flat on his face and the referee saved him from further harm. It may not have been the dominant performance he wanted but Kape still delivered another emphatic finish as he wins his fourth fight in a row — all by knockout.
Now Kape believes it’s his time to fight for the title after he thought he was already getting that shot before ultimately deciding to take the Horiguchi rematch instead.
“I don’t know what the plans UFC has,” Kape said. “I fought the best fighter in this division. I need to fight for the belt.”
