{"id":749914,"date":"2026-06-20T17:37:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T17:37:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/749914\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T17:37:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T17:37:15","slug":"kyoji-horiguchi-vs-manel-kape-2-odds-full-fight-preview-and-prediction-ufc-vegas-119","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/749914\/","title":{"rendered":"Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Manel Kape 2: Odds, full fight preview and prediction | UFC Vegas 119"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight strikers Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Manel Kape will rematch this weekend (Sat., June 20, 2026) inside Meta Apex from Las Vegas, Nevada, for UFC Vegas 118.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been about nine years since the first battle between Horiguchi and Kape, which took place in the opening round of the RIZIN 2017 Grand Prix. Already at the top of his game, Horiguchi took apart Kape, landing the heavier blows and out-wrestling the knockout artist en route to a late submission win.<\/p>\n

In the years since the first bout, Horiguchi has continued to accomplish great things, winning gold in RIZIN and Bellator en route to his eventual Octagon return. Kape, meanwhile has gotten so much better. He captured a RIZIN title as well, but Kape appears to be just peaking in the last year or so, as he rides a three-fight knockout streak into this likely title eliminator.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a closer look at the betting odds and strategic keys for each athlete:<\/p>\n

\"LAS<\/a><\/p>\n

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 13: (L-R) Manel Kape of Angola punches Brandon Royval in a flyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on December 13, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n

Horiguchi vs. Kape 2 Betting Odds<\/p>\n

Kyoji Horiguchi victory: +134Kyoji Horiguchi via TKO\/KO\/DQ: +1000Kyoji Horiguchi via submission: +750Kyoji Horiguchi via decision: +270Manel Kape victory: -172Manel Kape via TKO\/KO\/DQ: +210Manel Kape via submission: +1500Manel Kape via decision: +240Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook<\/a>\"LAS<\/a><\/p>\n

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – FEBRUARY 07: (R-L) Kyoji Horiguchi of Japan lands a knee to Amir Albazi of Iraq in a flyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Meta APEX on February 07, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n

Horiguchi is one of the best blends of Karate and boxing in MMA history. He has the incredible ability to explode forward suddenly and cover leaps of distance, yet he follows it up with great head movement and the ability to build on combinations. Horiguchi is also a damn good wrestler and grappler, particularly when he\u2019s not being dwarfed by Bantamweight oppositions.<\/p>\n

The only knock against Horiguchi is that he\u2019s 35 years old and has been a pro for 15 years. His first UFC title shot versus Demetrious Johnson was 11 years ago!<\/p>\n

This bout will come down to distance management. Horiguchi \u2014 despite his excellent weaving hooks \u2014 will want to limit the amount of time spent in the pocket with Kape, who is unreasonably fast and powerful when putting combos together. Fortunately, Horiguchi is quicker with his feet, able to spring forward and land then escape before the return fire comes.<\/p>\n

The \u201cescape\u201d is important. Horiguchi has to consistently exit at an angle, ideally with head movement, rather than pull straight backward. Horiguchi could also look to add takedowns or clinch up after he throws, as punching-and-clutching would also be a viable path to smother Kape\u2019s offense.<\/p>\n

Finally, Horiguchi should be throwing lots of kicks when in the open. We\u2019ve seen multiple opponents score free points against Kape by just staying active with kicks at distance, and Horiguchi has the power to do actual damage and keep Kape\u2019s hands at home if he\u2019s blasting body and high kicks.<\/p>\n

\"LAS<\/a><\/p>\n

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 01: (L-R) Manel Kape of Angola punches Asu Almabayev of Kazakstan in a flyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on March 01, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n

Over the years, Kape grew from wild athlete to more refined boxer. His hands are exceptionally quick, and Kape cracks with a thud that\u2019s largely unmatched at 125-pounds. Generally, Kape is difficult both to take and hold down, while inactivity is his historic greatest issue.<\/p>\n

If the matchup is all about distance for Horiguchi, it\u2019s all about timing for Kape. When Horiguchi leaps forward, he\u2019s creating a tremendous amount of potential impact \u2026 for both men. We just saw Horiguchi run into a punch from Amir Albazi and get momentarily stunned, and he\u2019s nowhere near the level of puncher as \u201cStarboy.\u201d<\/p>\n

One well-timed counter punch could end the fight.<\/p>\n

That said, Kape cannot wait around. He\u2019s lost too many frustratingly close decisions by failing to open up. While staying ready for potential counters, Kape has to pursue Horiguchi and try to cut off the fence. If Horiguchi\u2019s back is to the fence, retreat will be more difficult, and Kape will have a better shot at landing his own offense. We just saw Kape employ this tactic well versus Brandon Royval, so it\u2019s time to find out if Kape can mix high-level pressure and counter fighting against an elite opponent.<\/p>\n

\"LAS<\/a><\/p>\n

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 04: Manel Kape of Angola reacts after his knockout victory over Zhalgas Zhumagulov of Kazakhstan in their flyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on December 04, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n

Horiguchi vs. Kape 2 Prediction<\/p>\n

This is an outstanding fight that could absolutely go either way. Horiguchi has the edge in versatility and general technical ability, whereas Kape has a ton of momentum and absolute thunder in his hands.<\/p>\n

As for the actual prediction: timing is everything in combat sports, and Kape is running hot. He has all the confidence in the world and really seems to have improved his inactivity issues. Horiguchi, conversely, is still excellent but physically appears a small step behind his best. He\u2019s just a little slower, a little less durable compared to the height of his RIZIN run.<\/p>\n

In the first fight, prime Horiguchi smoked a talented prospect. In this rematch, I expect a peaking Kape to earn his revenge on a slightly shopworn Horiguchi.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Kape via knockout<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight strikers Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Manel Kape will rematch this weekend (Sat., June 20,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":749915,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[444],"tags":[49,48,641,33601,638,82,139445,702,17056,17055,8729,4454],"class_list":["post-749914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-fighting","tag-latest-ufc-mma-news","tag-mma","tag-sports","tag-ufc-on-paramount","tag-ufc-news","tag-ufc-odds","tag-ufc-predictions","tag-ufc-previews","tag-upcoming-ufc-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=749914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749914\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/749915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=749914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=749914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=749914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}