Overview
- Manel Kape stopped Kyoji Horiguchi by TKO at 2:42 of round three in the main event on Saturday at UFC Vegas 119 to avenge their 2017 loss.
- Kyoji Horiguchi controlled much of the early fight with kicks and takedowns before a single counter right hand from Kape turned the bout into a finish.
- Co‑main Navajo Stirling defeated Ion Cutelaba by second‑round TKO and the preliminary card featured rapid and rare finishes, including Levan Chokheli’s 23‑second TKO of Leon Shahbazyan.
- The UFC awarded performance bonuses for standout stoppages, with reported winners including Christian Rodriguez, Murtazali Magomedov, Vinicius Oliveira and Levan Chokheli.
- Kape’s win makes him the logical next challenger for the UFC flyweight title but any shot at Joshua Van will depend on the timing of Van’s rematch with Alexandre Pantoja and UFC matchmaking decisions.