Manel Kape has had roughly 8.5 years to think about his previous loss to Kyoji Horiguchi.
The pair met on New Year’s Eve in 2017 in the RIZIN bantamweight grand prix in Saitama, Japan with Horiguchi getting a submission win.
Kape was 24 at the time and still early in his fighting career, while Horiguchi, three years older, was more experienced and had already challenged for a title in the UFC and had won championship in both RIZIN and Bellator MMA.
Nearly nine years later and both fighters are among the UFC’s top flyweight contenders having both dropped down from 135 pounds to 125 pounds.
The Horiguchi vs. Kape rematch headlines a UFC Fight Night card at the Meta Apex on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
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Horiguchi has gone 2-0 since returning to the UFC in the second half of last year and is coming off consecutive wins over Tagir Ulanbekov in November and Amir Albazi in February.
The 35-year-old from Japan is 9-1 across his two stints in the UFC with his lone loss a 2015 title fight to former longtime champion Demetrious Johnson. In addition to his previous win over Kape, Horiguchi has also defeated fellow RIZIN champ-turned-UFC-star Kai Asakura plus fellow former Bellator champions Sergio Pettis and Darrion Caldwell.
Kape is on a 7-1 run in the UFC with consecutive KO/TKO wins over Bruno Silva, Asu Almabayev and one-time flyweight title challenger Brandon Royval.
The 32-year-old fighting out of Portugal by way of Angola enters the weekend the No. 2 contender with Horiguchi a few spots back at No. 5.
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Flyweight contenders Manel Kape and Kyoji Horiguchi meet at the Meta Apex. Watch UFC Fight Night action on Saturday, June 20 on Sportsnet 360 and Sportsnet+ with coverage beginning at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT.
Both headliners successfully made weight Friday morning, as did all but one fighter.
Kevin Borjas weighed three pounds above the non-title flyweight limit ahead of his scheduled matchup with Andre Lima. Borjas will forfeit 20 per cent of his purse to Lima and the bout will proceed at a catchweight.
Below is a look at the complete bout order and panel predictions for UFC Fight Night: Kape vs. Horiguchi…
— Manel Kape vs. Kyoji Horiguchi
— Ion Cutelaba vs. Navajo Stirling
— Hyder Amil vs. Christian Rodriguez
— Melsik Baghdasaryan vs. Murtazali Magomedov
— Andre Fili vs. Vinicius Oliveira
— Andre Lima vs. Kevin Borjas
— Beatriz Mesquita vs. Melissa Mullins
— Allan Nascimento vs. Mitch Raposo
— Gaston Bolanos vs. Michael Aswell Jr.
— Leon Shahbazyan vs. Levan Chokheli
— Karol Rosa vs. Luana Santos
— Shane Collins vs. Otari Tanzilovi
Ahead of each UFC event in 2026, UFC reporter Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter), producer Dan Fernandes (@DanFernandes__) and writer/editor Mike Johnston (@MikeyJ_MMA) will peruse the odds and make four betting predictions using fantasy dollars: one best bet, one favourite, one underdog and one dart throw wager. REMINDER: Sportsnet is committed to promoting and educating audiences about the importance of betting responsibly. Sources for responsible gambling can be found HERE.
Cage Lock: Chokheli vs. Shahbazyan does not go the distance -500
Favourite: Manel Kape -154
Underdog: Luana Santos +100
Dart Throw: Shahbazyan by KO/TKO/DQ/SUB +400
Leon Shahbazyan is seemingly allergic to decisions. Over the course of his 11-year career span, dating back to his amateur bouts, he has never seen the scorecards, so why start now? … While he is an underdog against Chokheli, his best winning conditions are a quick finish, so I’ll throw a dart at Shahbazyan winning inside the distance. … At this stage, I expect Kape to have a sizeable advantage over Horiguchi. Kape is younger, has improved more and has more ways to win the fight. … Santos continues to improve with each fight and while Rosa can be a tough puzzle to solve, I like her as an underdog in this spot.
Cage Lock: Beatriz Mesquita -530
Favourite: Manel Kape -154
Underdog: Mitch Raposo +162
Dart Throw: Ion Cutelaba by TKO/KO +650
Bia Mesquita has made a seamless transition from BJJ to MMA. If Melissa Mullins is able to keep this one standing, Mesquita could run into some problems. But if this goes to the ground and Bia can establish top position it could be over at any second via submission. I think her relentless pursuit of a submission victory means she is a virtual lock to take this on scorecards or sooner. … Kape took his game to another level against Asu Almabayev and then even further against Brandon Royval. Horiguchi will be a different puzzle to solve, but Kape has five rounds to take a patient approach here and I think he just about edges this based on volume and durability. … Mitch Raposo is a better fighter than his MMA record indicates and with a long-awaited UFC win under his belt we could be witnessing a promising fighter who is about to realize his potential. We haven’t seen Allan Nascimento in a while and if he comes out of the gates slow or hesitant in this one, Raposo could steal this on cards. … There’s little MMA evidence to suggest Ion Cutelaba knocks out Navajo Stirling. Call me crazy, but I think there’s a universe where this happens. Quite possibly this universe.
Cage Lock: Murtazali Magomedov -350
Favourite: Christian Rodriguez -200
Underdog: Ion Cutelaba +260
Dart Throw: Vinicius Oliveira by KO/TKO/DQ in Round 2 +500
Murtazali Magomedov is a solid addition to the featherweight division and I expect him to stay undefeated after a successful UFC debut and he should be a threat to finish. … Navaho Stirling has a brioght future at 205 pounds but Cutelaba is performing better than he has in years and I feel he is being undervalued in this spot even though he could have trouble with Stirling’s length and patience on the feet. … Christian Rodriguez hasn’t had the best results in the UFC but he’s a quality fighter. I see him being tough enough and skilled enough to weather the early onslaught from Hyder Amil before leaning on his well-rounded skill set to take control of the matchup. … Oliveira is moving up from bantamweight and faces a stiff test in Andre Fili and this should tell us whether the Brazilian’s power will carry up a division.
Three legs: Chokheli vs. Shahbazyan ends inside the distance + Mesquita + Magomedov
Parlay odds: -120 (to win: $83.40)
2026 STANDINGS AFTER 19 EVENTS
2026 winnings: -$31.19 (on $100 bets)
AARON’S RECORDS/TOTALS (37-39, +0.11 units)
Cage Lock: 13-6 (-$365.42)
Favourite: 11-8 (-$182.80)
Dart throw: 4-15 (+$350)
DAN’S RECORDS/TOTALS (39-36-1, +0.73 units)
Cage Lock: 18-1 (+$205.07)
Favourite: 13-6 (+$63.87)
Underdog: 5-13-1 (-$595)
Dart throw: 3-16 (+$400)
MIKE’S RECORDS/TOTALS (35-39-2, -7.54 units)
Cage Lock: 16-3 (+$142.50)
Favourite: 11-8 (-$57.26)
Underdog: 7-11-1 (+$360)
Dart throw: 1-17-1 (-$1,200)
Cage Lock: The pick deemed to be the wager most likely to win regardless of what the odds look like. The Cage Locks parlay will combine Aaron’s, Dan’s and Mike’s respective best bet for each event.
Favourite: A fighter with winning odds shorter than -300 but not longer than -110. On chalkier cards with a dearth of available moneyline favourites that meet those criteria, prop bets are allowed to be selected.
Underdog: Any fighter with longer odds than their opponent’s.
Dart Throw: Any prop bet or moneyline wager with odds of +400 or longer.
(Betting odds above are via BetMGM, submitted at various times throughout week, and subject to change prior to the fights)