4 Fights We Need to See After UFC Fight Night: Kape vs. Horiguchi

Manel Kape can no longer be denied.

This past Saturday, in the main event of the UFC's latest show in Las Vegas, the Angolan flyweight asserted himself as one of his division's top contenders with an impressive third-round TKO win over Japanese talent Kyoji Horiguchi. After the win, a title shot could be next for him, though nothing is set in stone just yet.

Navajo Stirling also impressed in Las Vegas. The rising light heavyweight from New Zealand improved to 10-0 in the event's co-headliner, weathering some early adversity to defeat Moldovan veteran Ion Cutelaba by second-round TKO.

Elsewhere on the card, a number of promising fighters impressed with highlight-reel finishes, including rising featherweights Christian Rodriguez and Murtazali Magomedov, and undefeated bantamweight Bia Mesquita.

Here are the fights we'd like to see next for Saturday's big winners.

Manel Kape vs. Joshua Van

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After his impressive third-round stoppage of Kyoji Horiguchi, a win that came following some early adversity, Manel Kape has now won eight of his last nine fights.

His last four fights have all been stoppage victories, including a TKO of former title challenger Brandon Royval last year. That streak should be enough to earn him a long-awaited crack at the UFC flyweight title—though things are a bit uncertain atop the division right now.

The flyweight division is currently ruled by Myanmar's Joshua Van. On the surface, a Van vs. Kape fight is an easy sell, as both men are incredibly talented and in their primes. However, Van has other business to take care of, too.

The Burmese star won the title with a defeat of long-time champ Alexandre Pantoja last year. However, the win came under very unusual circumstances, as Pantoja suffered a fight-ending arm injury less than a minute into the first round.

There have been grounds for a Van vs. Pantoja rematch ever since then, and if the former champ has recovered from his arm injury, he may get the opportunity to reclaim the belt before Kape gets his shot.

That being said, it's still unclear when Pantoja will be ready to fight again, so the UFC should push ahead with a Van vs. Kape fight in the meantime.

Pantoja can have his opportunity when he's healthy again, but there's no sense in keeping the title on ice while he heals up.

Navajo Stirling vs. Alonzo Menifield

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Navajo Stirling had to endure some tough moments on the canvas in his Saturday showdown with Ion Cutelaba, but ultimately left the Octagon with a second-round TKO victory.

With that result, the Carlos Ulberg and Israel Adesanya training partner is now 10-0 in MMA and 5-0 in the Octagon. He's due for another step up.

In his post-fight interview, Stirling set his sights on fights with light heavyweight veteran Dustin Jacoby and No. 15-ranked contender Alonzo Menifield. Either of those options make sense, but the Menifield matchup is slightly more appealing.

Menifield has been in the UFC for years now. While he's been hovering on the fringes of the rankings for much of that time, he's always been too inconsistent to become a serious title contender. That being said, he's currently got some good momentum, following a first-round stoppage win over Chinese talent Zhang Mingyang late last month.

He's just the level of opponent Stirling should be fighting right now, and it's an interesting matchup on paper, as both men bring dangerous striking skill to the Octagon. On top of that, the two fighters are on similar schedules, having both fought in the last 30 days.

Christian Rodriguez vs. Murtazali Magomedov

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Saturday's UFC event in Las Vegas featured a bunch of impressive finishes. Two of the best came from featherweights Murtazali Magomedov and Christian Rodriguez, both of whom were in action on the main card.

Magomedov, from Kyrgyzstan, was up first, making his UFC debut against a tough Melsik Baghdasaryan. He needed just over a minute to get the job done with a modified twister—one of the rarest submissions in the sport. With that result, he's now 11-0, with stoppages in every single one of his victories. In other words, he's a seriously compelling prospect.

Rodriguez fought right after Magomedov. He was taking on Hyder Amil, and like Magomedov, got things done with a submission—in his case, a vicious, first-round guillotine. While he has thus far been a bit inconsistent in the UFC, he has developed a reputation as a prospect killer, thanks to Octagon victories over formerly undefeated fighters in Austin Bashi, Isaac Dulgarian, Cameron Saiman, and Raul Rosas Jr.

Let's see if he can take out another red-hot prospect in Murtazali. Having both fought on Saturday, they should be ready to go again around the same time, and it's an excellent matchup that should tell us a lot about where both guys belong in the weight class. Book it.

Bia Mesquita vs. Ailin Perez

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Saturday's undercard featured a high-stakes women's bantamweight bout, as Brazil's Bia Mesquita took on England's Melissa Mullins.

Despite being rocked by a punch early on, Mesquita ultimately came through as a big favorite with a first-round armbar.

With her submission win over Mullins, Mesquita improved to 8-0 in MMA, and 3-0 in the UFC. While she clearly still has some improvements to make in terms of her striking, the decorated BJJ black belt and former LFA champion is on course for a fight with a top-ranked opponent.

If she gets her way, it'll be a clash with Argentina's Ailin Perez next.

Mesquita called out Perez in her post-fight interview with commentator Daniel Cormier. This matchup would be a big step up for her, as she is ranked No. 13, while Perez is ranked No. 5, but it makes sense.

After six straight wins, Perez is one of the top contenders in the division. However, she'll have to wait for a crack at champion Kayla Harrison, as the next title opportunity is expected to go to returning MMA legend Amanda Nunes.

A fight with Mesquita may not be quite what she had in mind, but they've both got significant momentum, so it makes sense to match them up while we wait for Harrison and Nunes to settle their score.