Manel Kape Dropped Horiguchi and the Flyweight Division Is Officially On Notice

HOLY MOLY, Seattle sports fans, did you see what went down in Vegas this weekend? Manel Kape just served up a TKO masterclass against Kyoji Horiguchi at UFC Fight Night, and trust me, the flyweight title picture got a whole lot clearer, and a whole lot scarier for the champ. Kape absolutely delivered, avenging a nasty 2017 loss and staking his claim as the undisputed next challenger for that gold! You just know Joshua Van is watching his back after this performance.

Starboy Secured His Shot, No Question

Talk about a statement win! Kape stepped into the Meta Apex on Saturday, June 20, 2026, and erased years of bad blood, finishing Horiguchi by TKO at 2:42 of the third round. It wasn't an easy night. Horiguchi actually landed some good shots and even got three takedowns on Kape. But "Starboy" never panicked, he just waited for his moment. And when it came, oh boy, did he deliver. Kape landed a nasty counter right hand that absolutely rocked Horiguchi, and that was all she wrote. Referee Herb Dean got the stoppage right this time, too, which is always a relief to see. This TKO win pushes Kape's record to an impressive 23-7 and officially cements him as the division’s top contender. He's next in line, period, once Van runs back his title fight with former champ Alexandre Pantoja. The Emerald City is buzzing for this title s

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Finishes, Bonuses, and Absolute Chaos

And it wasn't just the main event delivering the goods! This UFC Fight Night, the first card since the White House Freedom 250 spectacle, was a finish-heavy night that had us on the edge of our seats. Navajo Stirling scored a TKO over Ion Cutelaba in the co-main, finishing him by punches and elbows in the second round at 3:23. Christian Rodriguez put Hyder Amil away with a slick guillotine choke in the first round. We even saw a rare twister submission from Murtazali Magomedov, who finished Melsik Baghdasaryan in just 77 seconds. Vinicius Oliveira got a TKO win over Andre Fili with elbows and punches in round two, and Levan Chokheli had the fastest finish of the night with a TKO from a leg kick and punches in a blistering 23 seconds! Of course, the UFC shelled out those sweet $100,000 bonuses. Kape and Magomedov rightly took home Performance of the Night awards for their dynamic finishes. Oliveira and Fili won Fight of the Night, which was well-deserved given their battle. Seriously, how did Chokheli and Rodriguez miss out on those big bonuses? Every other fighter who won by finish earned an additional $25,000, so at least there's that. What's next for Kape? Well, he's earned his shot, no doubt. We're all waiting to see Van vs. Pantoja go down, but once that's settled, Kape is coming for that belt. Get ready, flyweight division, because Manel Kape is on a mission!

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.