Manel Kape scored a statement victory in his rematch with Kyoji Horiguchi, knocking out the Japanese standout in the third round of their UFC bout.
Kape flattened Horiguchi with punches in the final frame, forcing referee Herb Dean to step in and stop the fight. The result marked Horiguchi’s first defeat since returning to the UFC and dropped his overall record to 36-6 with one no contest.
Horiguchi, who had previously submitted Kape in their first meeting in RIZIN back in 2017, addressed fans afterward. “Thank you all for your support,” he said. “I got spectacularly knocked out. I’m truly sorry. Kape was strong.”
Despite the setback, Horiguchi made it clear he intends to continue chasing his ambitions. “Thank you! This is why I can’t quit martial arts. I’ll retrain and be back in no time! I’m not giving up on my dream yet.”
Horiguchi is now 7-1 with one no contest in his past eight fights, with all but one of those contests coming at flyweight after years competing at bantamweight. This was only the second loss on his UFC record, with the other coming in a 2015 flyweight title fight against Demetrious Johnson. Horiguchi has stated that his goal remains to become UFC flyweight champion.
