UFC Fight Night Kape vs. Horiguchi Live Updates, Results and Highlights

There's a lot to unpack after Saturday's UFC card in Las Vegas, but here are the three biggest takeaways of the night.

Manel Kape's Trump Card

Manel Kape was in quite a bit of trouble early in his main event showdown with Kyoji Horiguchi, as he was repeatedly taken down and controlled for length periods. However, he put a decisive end to things in round three, suddenly stopping his Japanese opponent with an uppercut and a salvo of ground strikes. This is Kape's trump card. He hits harder than any other fighter in the flyweight division today, and maybe ever—so much so that he has a real chance of winning any fight at any moment, even when he is well behind on the scorecards. This fact is going to be particularly relevant in his next fight, which will most likely see him take on Joshua Van or Alexandre Pantoja—both world-class fighters—for the title. He might not be on either man's level in terms of pure skill, but if he can land even one of his power shots cleanly, he can win the fight, and the world title.

Navajo Stirling's Continuing Evolution

After a vicious second-round TKO of Ion Cutelaba in Saturday's co-main event, New Zealand's Navajo Stirling is now 10-0, and very possibly due for a fight with a top-15 opponent. Given his close affiliation with Carlos Ulberg, Israel Adesanya, and the other stars of City Kickboxing, it's really no surprise to see him having so much early success in the UFC, but let's not got ahead of ourselves. While Cutelaba holds the light heavyweight record for most takedowns, he is not exactly a world-class wrestler, and he completely handled Stirling on the canvas. The Kiwi will certainly benefit from the fact that there aren't many elite wrestlers in the light heavyweight division, but his clear skill deficit in the grappling department is going to be something to watch going forward.

Long Live the Featherweight Division

Saturday's main card kicked off with three straight featherweight fights. First up, Vinicius Oliveira brutally knocked out Andre Fili in the second-round of a wild scrap. Next, Kyrgyzstan's Murtazali Magomedov made a stunning UFC debut, choking out the experienced Melsik Baghdasaryan with an unusual twister variation in round one. Finally, Christian Rodriguez ran through Hyder Amil dropping him with a punch and choking him out inside a round. None of these fighters were ranked at 145 pounds. None will be ranked following their wins. They do not represent the best of the division—at least not currently. And yet, they produced some of the best moments of the card. All in all, their performances were a reminder of the unbelievable depth of talent in the featherweight division. Nearly every fighter on the division's roster is extremely skilled.

After two strong rounds, Horiguchi found himself on the back foot in round three, as an increasingly desperate Kape cranked up the volume. However, he did not back down, and landed some very big shots in return throughout a couple of wild exchanges.

As it turns out, Horiguchi wasn't out of trouble yet. Around the midway point of the round, Kape went on the attack again, and this time, landed a bomb that put his opponent on rollerblades. The Japanese fighter attempted to survive, but a volley of ground and pound sealed the deal. His face hit the canvas, and referee Herb Dean waved it off.

What a huge victory for Kape, who not only cemented himself as a top contender, but avenged the last stoppage loss on his record.

"Kyoji is an amazing fighter, I think the best fighter I've ever fought in my life," a classy Kape said in his post-fight interview. I become what I become because of fighting him."

In victory, Kape is all but guaranteed a flyweight title shot, though he may need to wait for champ Joshua Van to run it back with former champ Alexandre Pantoja.

After four-straight finishes, that certainly seems to be what he wants.

"I don't know what plans UFC has," he said. "I fought the best fighter in this division. Now I need to fight for the belt."

Horiguchi's coach Mike Brown told him between rounds that he's up 1-0, and most onlookers probably agreed with that.

Early in the round, Horiguchi kept his momentum going, wobbling Kape with a slick left hand. Moments later he dove right into a takedown, and once again succeeded. He then spent several minutes in top position, sneaking into ground and pound without getting too aggressive. Kape didn't offer much resistance from the bottom, but did launch a few upward elbows that got Horiguchi's attention.

With a little under a minute left, Horiguchi began to turn things up a bit, firing off some punches elbows. Nothing he threw came looked like a fight-ender, but it couldn't have felt great either, and it's about all Kape experienced through the round.

A much more obvious round for the Japanese star.

Following a rousing introduction from Joe Martinez, referee Herb Dean got this fight started, and the two headliners touched gloves.

After a big body kick from Horiguchi to get things going, things slowed down dramatically, as the two fighters spent some time measuring each other and downloading information.

Kape landed his first big shot of the fight around the three-minute mark, sending Horiguchi stumbling backwards with a big left hand. The Japanese star recovered though, and got back to work with sporadic leg kicks and punches at range.

With a little over a minute left, Horiguchi attempted his first takedown, but Kape shrugged it off. A few moments later, Kape tried to take his opponent's head off with two huge punches, but missed, and ate another body kick in return.

With seconds left in the round, Horiguchi attempted another takedown, and this time, succeeded, allowing him to finish the round on top.

Close round, but you've got to lean Horiguchi.

It's time for the main event, a rematch between top flyweight contenders Manel Kape and Kyoji Horiguchi. The pair's first meeting occurred in 2017 in the Rizin Fighting Federation ring, where both men held titles. Japan's Horiguchi won that one by submission, but the result of the rematch is anyone's guess. 

Today, Angola's Kape is 7-1 in his last eight, including a trio of knockouts in his last three fights, notably a stoppage of Brandon Royval. Horiguchi, who came up short in a UFC title fight with Demetrious Johnson before he ever moved to Rizin, is 2-0 since returning to the Octagon, having most recently beaten Amir Albazi by decision.

There's a good chance the winner of this one will be next for reigning flyweight champ Joshua Van, who is conveniently sitting cage-side to take it all in. Whatever happens, this is bound to be a great fight, as both men posses incredible speed and finishing ability. 

Enough waiting. Let's do this. 

As expected, Ion Cutelaba's underrated grappling turned out to be a major challenge for New Zealand's Navajo Stirling. The Moldovan veteran landed multiple takedowns through rounds one and two of their light heavyweight fight, and threatened with several very close submissions, including a guillotine in round one and a kimura in round two. In a great display of poise, however, the Kiwi kickboxer weathered the storm, and finished his opponent with strikes late in round two. It was a bit of a weird sequence, as Cutelaba seemed to just completely give up at a totally random moment of the fight, but it was impressive all the same.

"I'm the real deal," Stirling said in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. "I can scramble my ass off.

"I'm not afraid of getting taken down cause I know I can get up... I wrestle all the time, so I had to show everyone."

Now 10-0 overall, Stirling is the latest City Kickboxing rep to make waves in the Octagon, following in the footsteps of Carlos Ulberg and Israel Adesanya. Following his win, he set his sights on potential fights with fringe contenders Dustin Jacoby and Alonzo Menifield. Either of those matchups make sense for him, and another win would send him hurtling into the top-15.

We've reached the evening's co-main event: a light heavyweight scrap between Moldovan veteran Ion Cutelaba and newcomer Navajo Stirling from New Zealand. 

This is an interesting fight. Stirling, a training partner of light heavyweight champ Carlos Ulberg and middleweight legend Israel Adesanya, is undefeated at 9-0, with excellent kickboxing skill. Cutelaba, meanwhile, has always been pretty inconsistent, but has spent years fighting world-class opposition, and despite some solid striking, shockingly holds the division record for most takedowns, at 40.

At the moment, Stirling is riding wins over Rodolfo Bellato and Bruno Lopes in his first two UFC fights. Cutelaba, on the other hand, is fresh off a submission of Oumar Sy, and is 3-2 in his last five.

It's going to be interesting to see how both fighters approach this matchup, but they both clearly have the skills to win it, and the victor could be looking at a top-15 opponent next time out.

They're both in the cage, so let's hand it over to announcer Joe Martinez and get to it.

Christian Rodriguez was the picture of dominance in his main card featherweight scrap with Hyder Amil. After landing a few hard shots to start the round, he sent his opponent crashing to the canvas with a right hand, and then lunged onto a guillotine that quickly turned the lights off. It wasn't quite as fast as Alexa Grasso's recent defeat of Maycee Barber, but it was definitely the same kind of quick and brutal work.

The win, which is a clear frontrunner for a post-fight bonus, separates Rodriguez from a pair of losses to Melquizael Costa and Andre Fili. It's also his first victory since the death of his legendary coach, Duke Roufus, last September. Needless to say, it was a big one for him.

Given his reputation as a prospect killer, how about matching him up with Murtazali Magomedov, who made a dazzling UFC debut earlier on tonight's card? Thank us later, UFC matchmakers.

Up next, we've got a third straight fight at featherweight, with Christian Rodriguez taking on Hyder Amil.

Rodriguez has lost back-to-back decisions against Melquizael Costa and Andre Fili, but has a track record of derailing young prospects' hype trains. Amil, from the Philippines, is hardly a young prospect at 36 years old, and with a bunch of experience in the Bellator and LFA cages behind him. However, he was undefeated at 11-0 until a pair of UFC losses last year. He's definitely a capable fighter, even as the oldest one on the card.

This should be a fun scrap. Let's go.

After weeks of rumors, Saturday's broadcast finally confirmed the main event of the UFC's July 18 stop in Oklahoma City: a dynamite middleweight clash between Dricus Du Plessis and Kamaru Usman.

South Africa's Du Plessis, the former middleweight champ, has not fought since he lost his belt with a lopsided decision to Khamzat Chimaev last year. It's been an even longer layoff for the Nigerian-American Usman, a former welterweight champ whose legacy in the division is surpassed only by Georges St-Pierre's. He hasn't fought since a 2025 victory over Joaquin Buckley.

This is a huge fight for both former champs, and one that could easily shape the immediate future of the middleweight division—especially considering both hold decisive wins over reigning champ Sean Strickland.

Murtazali Magomedov made a serious splash in his UFC debut, tapping a tough Melsik Baghdasaryan with a submission that even former champs Daniel Cormier and Michael Bisping struggled to name. While it appeared to be some kind of twister—it would be just the fourth in UFC history in that case—it was a variation that most onlookers have never seen before. That is a pretty amazing feat from a guy that many onlookers had never heard of before.

"I work this technique long time," a smiling Magomedov said in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. "My brother teach me this technique."

With the win, which came less than a minute and a half into the first round, Magomedov is now a very impressive 11-0. Expect him to enter the Octagon with a ton of hype next time out, and most likely $50,000 richer thanks to a near-certain post-fight bonus later tonight.

We'll stick to the featherweight division in our next fight, as former boxer and kickboxer Melsik Baghdasaryan looks to rebound from a loss to Jean Silva against Murtazali Magomedov, who is making his Octagon debut after a 10-0 start to his pro career.

Armenia's Murtazali Magomedov will be looking to build up some momentum after fighting just five times since his UFC debut in 2021. Magomedov, from Kyrgyzstan, will look to get his UFC career off to a hot start at just 26 years old.

The opening bout of Saturday's main card delivered violence in spades, as Vinicius "Lok Dog" Oliveira made a successful featherweight debut with a vicious second-round stoppage of the veteran Andre Fili.

Oliveira faced some adversity early in the fight, as he was badly hurt by a Fili body kick, but by round two, he was taking control of the affair with his leg kicks and hellacious power punches. Fili hung tough for a while, but eventually, Oliveira hit another gear, and put his opponent away with a nasty assault against the cage. A few of the shots in the finishing sequence seemed to land to the back of Fili's head, but the officials took no issue with it, so there's not much else to be said about it.

The win gets Oliveira back on track after a submission loss to Mario Bautista in his final bantamweight fight, and immediately asserts him as a fighter to watch at featherweight. We'll see how far how he can go in his new weight class, but there are a ton of exciting matchups to be made for him in the division, even outside the rankings.

Saturday's under-the-radar UFC broadcast featured a pretty major announcement. Starting Monday, the UFC will debut a new ranking system, breaking away from the longstanding media voting system in favor of a new "data-driven" approach that will consider factors like strength of schedule, and eliminate the risk of opinion and bias skewing the rankings. Allegedly...

Let's see how it looks on Monday.

With the undercard wrapped up, it's time to get to the main card.

First up, we've got a featherweight clash between entertaining veteran Andre Fili and promising Brazilian talent Vinicius Oliveira, a former bantamweight. Fili will be looking to rebound from a split-decision loss to Jose Miguel Delgado. Oliveira, meanwhile, is riding a submission loss to Mario Bautista, one of the top contenders in the bantamweight division.

This one should be good. We seem to have some highlight reels and promotional material to get through first, but it's coming up soon.

As far as the oddsmakers were concerned, Kevin Borjas was the biggest underdog of the night against Andre Lima. Anyone who bet on him is going to be laughing to the bank, as he ultimately pulled off a massive upset with a unanimous decision after three rounds.

It was Borjas' slick boxing and aggression that led him to victory, and resulted in Lima's first pro loss.

"I feel like Lazarus today," he said in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. "I rose to the occasion."

Borjas, who is now 2-4 in the UFC, deserves even more props considering he spent five minutes in the second round recovering from an inadvertent low blow. Of course, it bears mentioning that he missed weight for this fight, but he's got to be feeling pretty good right now nonetheless. Had he lost, he almost certainly would have received his walking papers.

After a surprisingly strong first round against a heavy favorite, Kevin Rojas was hit with an inadvertent low blow. After two of a maximum five minutes, he was still doubled-over on the canvas. It was worrying enough that commentator Michael Bisping quickly began speaking about a possible No Contest.

"I don't think he's getting up in the next two minutes," Bisping said as Rojas rolled onto his back after three minutes of time out.

"I don't know that this fight is going to continue," commentator Daniel Cormier said after four minutes.

Miraculously, both men were wrong, as Borjas returned to his feet to continue fighting Andre Lima after a full five minutes.

With a little more than 20 minutes left until Saturday's main card, we've reached the final bout of the prelims: an appetizing clash between Brazil's Andre Lima and Kevin Borjas of Peru. The bout was supposed to be contested at flyweight, but will instead go down at a 129-pound catchweight after Borjas missed weight.

The two men enter the cage in very different situations. Lima is undefeated at 11-0, with wins in his first four UFC bouts—though one was a DQ caused by his opponent biting him. Borjas, meanwhile, is just 1-4 in the Octagon, and will most likely be cut in defeat, especially after missing weight.

Lima, as you'd expect, is a big favorite to win, but he's got a lot of punching power and great boxing, so this could definitely get interesting. Let's get to it.

Brazil's Bea Mesquita was one of the biggest favorites of Saturday's card, but her opponent Melissa Mullins nearly shook things up in a big way. Mid-way through the first round, the Englishwoman put her Brazilian opponent on wobbly legs with a pair of punches. Unfortunately for her, that surprising moment of success was short-lived. After following Mesquita to the mat—a staggering decision against such a decorated BJJ black belt—the Brit was quickly submitted with an armbar.

"No matter what happens in here I'm going to get over it and get the victory," Mesquita said in her post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier.

In victory, Mesquita is now 8-0 overall, and 3-0 in the UFC. The adversity she faced against Mullins proves she still has plenty of room to improve, but don't be surprised if she's in title contention in the next year or two.

For now, she's focused on a September fight with fellow top-15 contender Ailin Perez, who she called out post-fight.

The second women's bantamweight bout of the night will see England's Melissa Mullins take on Bea Mesquita of Brazil. Mullins will be looking to bounce back from a decision loss to Darya Zheleznyakova in her last fight, while the former LFA champ Mesquita will be looking to improve to 8-0.

The Brazilian, an accomplished grappler, is a huge favorite to win, but Mullins is plenty tough, and won't be eager to accept defeat. Let's get to it.

Looking at Mitch Raposo and Allan Nascimento's recent records, it's easy to understand why the latter was the favorite heading into their undercard flyweight fight. Raposo was just 1-2 in the Octagon, while Brazil's Nascimento had won four straight. The momentum was clearly on the Brazilian's side.

Raposo didn't get the memo. The lighting-quick flyweight pieced his opponent up through round one and two, and while he was dropped and controlled in round three, still walked away with a decision victory. It was a close one, to be sure, but not a robbery.

In victory, Raposo is now riding two straight wins. He's got a lot of work to do if he wants to put himself in the title conversation, but after losing his first two UFC fights, he's finally on the right track.

Saturday's main event will see Kyoji Horiguchi and Manel Kape duke it out for a crack at flyweight champion Joshua Van. While they're far and away the highest-profile representatives of their division on the bill, we'll get some promising flyweight action on the undercard too, as Allan Nascimento takes on Mitch Raposo.

A title shot is definitely a long way off for both guys at this point—particularly the underdog Raposo, who is just 1-2 in the Octagon. However, Van is cage-side for tonight's fights, and this will be a big opportunity for both of men to get on the champ's radar.

Things looked like they could get ugly for Peru's Gaston Bolanos in the opening round of his featherweight debut. His opponent, Michael Aswell Jr., came out very aggressive, and seemed primed to live up to his status as a notable betting favorite. Showing remarkable calm under pressure, however, Bolanos gradually began to take control of the fight with his kicks and grappling. The momentum swing was so pronounced that by the mid-way point of round two, he had emerged as the new favorite. While Aswell mounted a comeback in round three, it was ultimately too late, as the judges went on to score the fight for the Peruvian.

The win, which was as close as they come, marks a successful featherweight debut for Bolanos. While his MMA record sits at a somewhat unimpressive 9-5, the former Muay Thai fighter is definitely a fun addition to the weight class. As his scrap with Aswell proved, he definitely knows how to entertain.

After a hot-and-cold run in the bantamweight division, Peru's Gaston Bolanos will make his featherweight debut on Saturday's undercard. His opponent will be Michael Aswell Jr.

Both men are riding losses, so there's a lot on the line for them here. Let's see who makes it count.

UFC debuts don't get much better than Levan Chokeli's. The Georgian welterweight blew his opponent Leon Shahbazyan away so quickly that we didn't have time to introduce the fight. It was a leg kick and volley of punches that sealed the deal, and 28 seconds is all it took. Not bad, considering he took the fight on short notice.

Chokheli, who fought the likes of Goiti Yamauchi, Sabah Homasi and Lorenz Larkin in the Bellator cage, is now a strong 15-3 overall. If his UFC debut is any indication, he's got a very bright future in the Octagon.

As UFC play-by-play commentator Dan Hellie put it, the second bout of Saturday's card was "all Luana Santos." The No. 11-ranked bantamweight contender used her grappling and cage-control to dominate the eighth-ranked Karol Rosa for all three rounds of their fight, ultimately walking away with a well-deserved unanimous decision win.

In victory, Santos is now 11-2 overall, and 3-0 in her last three. At 26, she is quickly emerging as one of the top contenders in her division. A fight with another top-10 opponent is almost certainly next, and if she wins, a title shot could be near in her future.

Up next, we've got an all-Brazil women's bantamweight clash, with the veteran Karol Rosa taking on rising contender Luana Santos.

Rosa, who has fought the likes of Irene Aldana, Norma Dumont and Yana Santos, and has beaten surging contender Joselyn Edwards, is riding a decision win over Nora Cornolle. Santos has won two-straight, having recently submitted Tainara Lisboa and beaten Melissa Croden by decision.

Both women are ranked in their division's top-15, so there's plenty on the line in this one. Let's get to it.

Welcome to the UFC, Shane Collins.

The Californian featherweight made his Octagon debut in the opener of Saturday's card, defeating Otari Tanzilovi by unanimous decision. Tanzilovi, from the country of Georgia, showed plenty of toughness throughout the fight, but was ultimately confounded by his opponent's pressure and grappling.

While it's still far too early to say how far Collins will get in the crowded featherweight division, he had some big moments in the fight, notably a deep submission attempt at the end of round two. Now 8-0 overall, he's definitely a guy to watch at 145 pounds, particularly considering he accepted this fight on just 10 days' notice.

UFC Fight Night: Kape vs. Horiguchi will kick off in about 5 minutes.

In the first bout of the night, we'll see two featherweight prospects make their UFC debuts, as Shane Collins takes on Otari Tanzilovi.

Collins, who has spent most of his career competing in Urijah Faber's A1 combat, sports a 7-0 pro record with five finishes. He also has some previous kickboxing experience. Tanzilovi is from Georgia—the same country that gave us Ilia Topuria and Merab Dvalishvili. He's 10-1 overall, with seven knockouts.

Collins is slightly favored to win this one, but it should be a fun way to kick off the card either way.