Fight By Fight Preview | UFC Fight Night: Kape vs Horiguchi

Manel Kape and Kyoji Horiguchi are amongst the best flyweights in the world, and on Saturday night, they renew acquaintances in a battle to see who moves one step closer to potentially challenging for UFC gold. 

Kape enters on a three-fight winning streak and having won seven of his last eight since starting his UFC tenure with consecutive decision losses. Five of those victories have come inside the distance, and the 32-year-old from Portugal seems to be rounding into the form that made him such a highly regarded addition to the roster at the start of 2021.

RELATED: Kyoji Horiguchi Fight Week Interview | Manel Kape Fight Week Interview | Horiguchi | A Rematch Nine Years In The Making

Consecutive victories since returning to the UFC fold have quickly catapulted Horiguchi into contention in the 125-pound weight class. The Japanese veteran, who challenged for gold during his first tour of duty in the Octagon, followed up his third-round submission win over Tagir Ulanbekov with a unanimous decision nod against Amir Albazi in February, pushing his overall unbeaten streak to eight in the process. 

In addition to being a meeting between two of the top flyweights in the world, Saturday’s main event is also a rematch as Horiguchi faced and submitted Kape in the semifinals of the Rizin World Grand Prix 2017. Kape has been the more dynamic of the two under the UFC banner, but Horiguchi has the overall experience edge and greater savviness, plus you never know how that previous result factors into this here. It’s assumed that Joshua Van will rematch Alexandre Pantoja next, so the winner of this one could be in line for a date with the winner of that presumed pairing, or simply further establish themselves as a threat before continuing to fight on and defend their place in the pecking order.

Additional Main Card Matchups

Ion Cutelaba vs Navajo Stirling

Light heavyweights looking to make a push into the rankings meet in the co-main event as Ion Cutelaba faces Navajo Stirling.

A 10-year, 20-fight veteran of the UFC, Cutelaba has long been a dangerous presence on the doorstep of the rankings, posing as a tough test for anyone inked to share the Octagon with him. Over his last four fights, “The Hulk” has garnered three wins and landed on the wrong side of a split decision verdict, most recently handing Oumar Sy a first-round loss via mounted guillotine choke.

WATCH: Navajo Stirling Fight Week Interview

Stirling politely requested this bout earlier in the year after dispatching Bruno Lopes and extending his record to 9-0 overall. A member of the Dana White’s Contender Series Class of ’24, Stirling is part of the second wave of standouts from City Kickboxing working forward at the moment and can inch further ahead in the 205-pound ranks by turning back Cutelaba here.

Hyder Amil vs Christian Rodriguez

Hyder Amil and Christian Rodriguez meet in a battle of featherweights looking to right the ship and start generating some buzz once again.

Amil came out of the gates quick following his contract-winning effort on Season 7 of Dana White’s Contender Series, registering a pair of finishes before out-working William Gomis in a clash of emerging prospects. But he has stumbled since, getting stopped quickly last summer by Jose Miguel Delgado before dropping a decision to Jamall Emmers last November to fall to 11-2 overall.

RELATED: Christian Rodriguez | A Brand New Man

Now training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, Rodriguez has shown flashes of his upside but inconsistently, landing at 5-4 overall in the UFC. Still just 28, the Milwaukee-native has always been viewed as someone capable of making a run into the rankings, but now is the time to show it if it’s going to happen.

Melsik Baghdasaryan vs Murtazali Magomedov

Dana White’s Contender Series grads meet in the featherweight division as Melsik Baghdasaryn welcomes Murtazali Magomedov to the Octagon for the first time.

After earning a contract on Season 4 and earning a pair of wins during his 2021 rookie campaign, Baghdasaryan has posted a 2:1 “cancellation-to-fight” ratio, competing just three times over the last four-and-a-half years. His last win came in the summer of 2023, and Saturday marks his first appearance since running afoul of Jean Silva in Seattle in early 2025.

READ: Debut To Watch | Murtazali Magomedov

Magomedov claimed a spot on the UFC roster last season with a first-round stoppage win over Brahyam Zurcher that extended his record to 10-0 as a professional. The standout from Kyrgyzstan owns a 100 percent finishing rate with his wins split right down the middle, which helps illustrate how well-rounded his game is and what to expect as he makes his UFC debut this weekend.

Baghdasaryan is a solid first test for Magomedov, who profiles as not only one of the top new additions to the featherweight ranks, but one of the top prospects from the Season 9 graduates overall. Debuts can be tricky, so it will be interesting to see how he navigates things on Saturday night.

Andre Fili vs Vinicius Oliveira

Veteran Andre Fili raised his hand to step in opposite Vinicius Oliveira as the previously ranked bantamweight makes his first appearance in the featherweight division.

The soon-to-be 36-year-old Fili competes for the second time this year, looking to bounce back after landing on the wrong side of a split decision verdict in his bout with Jose Miguel Delgado in mid-March. One of the most experienced hands in the division, Fili profiles as the perfect “Welcome Wagon” for Oliveira as he looks to start a run in the 145-pound weight class this weekend.

WATCH: Vinicius Oliveira Fight Week Interview

“LokDog” suffered his first UFC loss back in February when he was submitted by Mario Bautista in the second round of their main event clash. The 30-year-old Brazilian was cutting a ton of weight to make the bantamweight limit and now moves up in hopes of making a quick run towards the rankings in his new surrounding just as he did upon arrival in 2024.

Fights like this are always fascinating because there are so many questions about how the individual moving up in weight is going to fit in their new division. Oliveira has solid measurables for the division and if shifting weight classes brings increased stamina, he could become a threat, but he needs to make it through a challenging pairing with a tall, rangy veteran in Fili first.

Preliminary Card Pairings

Andre Lima vs Kevin Borjas

Originally scheduled to take place earlier this year, DWCS graduates Andre Lima and Kevin Borjas now clash in an intriguing flyweight pairing that closes out this weekend’s prelims.

A member of the Class of ’23, Lima has posted four additional wins since arriving in the UFC to run his record to 11-0 overall, most recently collecting a third-round finish of Daniel Barez. Also part of the Season 7 grad class, Borjas has gone 1-4 thus far, squeezing a brilliant win over Ronaldo “Lazy Boy” Rodriguez between a series of losses to talented competitors, including current champ Joshua Van and Mexican prospect Imanol Rodriguez.

MORE UFC VEGAS 119: André Lima | The Long Wait Is Finally Over

Bia Mesquita vs Melissa Mullins

Bantamweights Bia Mesquita and Melissa Mullins face off in a fascinating bantamweight matchup towards the end of the prelims on Saturday.

WATCH: Bia Mesquita Fight Week Interview

The decorated BJJ ace Mesquita has shown her submission skills in each of her first two UFC appearances, following up her debut second-round finish with a first-round finish of Montse Rendon back in March. Mullins makes her fifth appearance in the UFC, aiming to get back into the win column and move one fight to the good inside the Octagon by handing Mesquita the first loss of her MMA career.

Allan Nascimento vs Mitch Raposo

Allan Nascimento and Mitch Raposo were scheduled to meet in April before an illness sidelined the American, resulting in them being rescheduled to clash in Las Vegas this weekend.

RELATED: Mitch Raposo | Time To Show Up And Prove Himself

Nascimento touches down on a four-fight winning streak, having most recently stopped Cody Durden last November, and brandishing all the skills needed to be a threatening veteran presence in the flyweight top-15. Raposo landed on the wrong side of split decision verdicts against unbeaten Brazilian Andre Lima and Chinese veteran Sumudaerji in his first two UFC appearances, and then bested Azat Maksum on the cards last time out to register his first UFC win. 

Gaston Bolanos vs Michael Aswell Jr.

Gaston Bolanos and Michael Aswell Jr. clash in a featherweight scuffle sure to get the Fight of the Night bar high early in the evening on Saturday night.

Bolanos returns to action for the first time in just over a year, moving up a division after splitting his first four UFC appearances at bantamweight. Aswell Jr. won his divisional debut in slick fashion last October after debuting on short notice up a weight class and competes here after giving unbeaten Scouser Luke Riley a tough fight in London earlier this year.

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Leon Shahbazyan vs Levan Chokheli

Newcomers Leon Shahbazyan and Levan Chokheli meet in this preliminary card matchup in the welterweight division.

Shahbazyan joins his younger brother Edmen on the UFC roster thanks to four straight first-round submission wins on the regional circuit while pushing his record to 12-4 overall. Chokheli arrives in the UFC having won four of his last five and carries designs on building on his 14-3 overall record with a win in his promotional debut.

Karol Rosa vs Luana Santos

It’s a clash of ranked Brazilian bantamweights here as Karol Rosa faces off with Luana Santos in a compelling preliminary card fixture.

The 31-year-old Rosa has been a mainstay in the rankings for much of her eight-year tenure and returns to Las Vegas off a unanimous decision win over Nora Cornolle last time out. Santos has posted back-to-back wins since returning to the division and has won five of her six UFC starts to date, with three coming inside the distance.

READ: Luana Santos | Happy And Dangerous

Shane Collins vs Otari Tanzilovi

Unbeaten Californian Shane Collins faces off with DWCS alum Otari Tanzilovi in this featherweight contest set for Saturday’s prelims.

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Sporting a 7-0 mark largely earned under the A1 Combat banner, the 26-year-old Collins has already posted a pair of wins this year, both first-round stoppages. Tanzilovi appeared on Season 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series, dropping a split decision to Josias Musasa before rebounding with a unanimous decision win at Fury FC 101 last year to advance to 10-1 overall.