Athletes
Manel Kape | Revenge Is Sweet, A Championship Opportunity Will Be Sweeter
Surging Contender Talks Rematch With Kyoji Horiguchi, Title Ambitions
Back in December, Manel Kape was in an interesting position, stationed as one half of the final main event of the year in a critical matchup with Brandon Royval just a week after UFC 323, where Joshua Van toppled Alexandre Pantoja to claim the flyweight title and Tatsuro Taira made his case for contention by submitting former champ Brandon Moreno.
The bout with Royval was originally scheduled to take place in June, but when Kape suffered a broken foot in training, it opened the door for Van to step in and replace him, securing the win that landed him opposite Pantoja the week before. Now, “Starboy” had the chance to wrap up the year by turning back Royval and stating his case for a championship opportunity.
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“After the win, it has to be the title next; there is no one and no doubt,” he said ahead of the contest. “I will finish Brandon Royval and be next.”
Kape made good on the first part of that two-piece, the part he could control, rolling into the Octagon and blowing through the Colorado native in the first round to register his third straight stoppage win. But when the time came for Van to defend his title earlier this year, it was Taira who stood opposite him.
Highlight: Manel Kape Lands Flying Knee KO | UFC 265
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Highlight: Manel Kape Lands Flying Knee KO | UFC 265
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“We talked about we’re supposed to fight for the title next after the Brandon Royval KO — it was ‘there will not be no one there that is possible who could do what I did,’” Kape said on Tuesday evening, recalling our previous conversation ahead of his return to action against Kyoji Horiguchi in the main event of this weekend’s return to the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. “I know Tatsuro Taira was in the conversation — he had a good victory, but it was not better than mine. I think Tatsuro Taira did a helluva job to beat Brandon Moreno, but I just beat the guy that beat Brandon Moreno recently and beat him, correct?”
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He smiled, knowing the answer to his rhetorical question.
“They bet on the wrong dog.”
By not being selected, Kape’s journey to the title has been extended, as it’s expected that Van will face off with Pantoja again now that the former champion has recovered from the arm injury that halted their first encounter just 26 seconds into the contest, leaving the surging contender to enter into a rematch of his own.
Kape and Horiguchi faced each other on New Year’s Eve 2017 in the semifinals of the Rizin Bantamweight Grand Prix. The Angolan-born standout had just turned 24 and was a dozen fights into his professional career, while Horiguchi had twice as many fights, including having challenged for the UFC title during his initial run with the promotion.
In the end, the Japanese veteran secured an arm-triangle choke submission in the waning moments of the fight, but it was still a strong effort in defeat for Kape. Now, nearly nine years later, they’re set to run it back on Saturday.
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“I knew it will happen,” he said of the rematch. “I knew when he signed again to the UFC, he will be quickly in this position where he is right now, but there is only one guy that can stop me, and that’s me.
“This is a perfect scenario for the rematch and revenge,” continued Kape, a knowing smile painting his face. “Back in the time nine years ago, I was a young kid, only training with my brother, my cousin, and we faced a guy with a big team behind him, already been all these experiences in the UFC. Looking back at that time, we did a helluva job with him; I think it was the hardest fight the had in Rizin.
Manel Kape | Don't Be Surprised
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Manel Kape | Don't Be Surprised
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“No resources, only me, hungry to face a guy with everything he had, but I have now even more. Now it’s equal. If without nothing I did what I did to him and (eventually) became a champion, imagine right now? I’m a different fighter. It’s a perfect scenario to get revenge.”
The way Kape sees it, Saturday’s main event has similar stakes as their first encounter.
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“When we fought, he then fought for the title, for the finals, and now is the (same thing),” he said. “Whoever wins is gonna fight for the title. It’s very beautiful. God wrote these plans, and right now, we’re equal.”
Horiguchi has, as Kape expected, made a quick rise back into the Top 5 in the flyweight rankings, following up his submission win over Tagir Ulanbekov in his return with a unanimous decision victory over Amir Albazi earlier this year to extend his overall winning streak to five and unbeaten streak to eight, while also having won five straight inside the Octagon between his two stints with the promotion.
The 35-year-old veteran is without question one of the top competitors in the division and a legitimate championship threat once again, but while Kape respects his old rival immensely, he also believes that now is his time.
“It’s still the same game, he’s an incredible fighter, but I’m better than him,” Kape said of Horiguchi and where they stand just a few days out from facing off a second time. “Right now, I’m better than him.
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“I respect him a lot, I respect his game — he’s the one that made me improve all these years — but do you know when someone beats you, and you couldn’t do anything because this guy was better than you? It was not that moment; it was not that feeling.
“I just know,” he added. “And he knows.”
Highlight: Manel Kape Lands Flying Knee KO | UFC 265
Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there`s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world`s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!
Highlight: Manel Kape Lands Flying Knee KO | UFC 265
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While earning a measure of revenge this weekend is going to be satisfying, Kape’s main focus has not and will not change, and he intends to use this rematch as another opportunity to make his case for getting what he believes should have already come his way.
“The revenge is a sweet thing, but my head is not that way; my head is focused on my goal to fight for the title, be champion,” he said. “No one has been doing better than me. I think my last three fights have fascinated all the division, the company — I’ve been delivering a spectacular show — and I’m the ambassador of this division.
“It has to be me!” he said with a laugh when asked if a win will finally bring him the chance he’s been chasing since arriving in the promotion at the start of 2021. “But right now, I’m not predicting nothing about this. I’m focused, and I’m optimistic on my victory.
“I have a strong belief I’m gonna knock out this guy. I’ve been knocking out people and this time isn’t going to be different.”
UFC Fight Night: Kape vs Horiguchi took place live from Meta APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 20, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!