UFC Apex: Kape vs Horiguchi 2 - Jun 20 🇺🇸

[wandshogun09]

Imagine wasting a fight like this on the Apex?

PARAMOUNT+ MAIN CARD
Manel Kape vs Kyoji Horiguchi 

Ion Cutelaba vs Navajo Stirling 

Andre Fili vs Vinicius Oliveira 

Hyder Amil vs Christian Rodriguez 

Andre Lima vs Kevin Borjas 

Melsik Baghdasaryan vs Murtazali Magomedov 

PARAMOUNT+ PRELIMS
Bia Mesquita vs Melissa Mullins 

Allan Nascimento vs Mitch Raposo

Gaston Bolanos vs Michael Aswell Jr

Karol Rosa vs Luana Santos

Leon Shahbazyan vs Levan Chokheli 

Shane Collins vs Otari Tanzilovi 

 

First off…2! Two! The poster should say “2”. The main event is a rematch. I guess they don’t acknowledge the first fight if it didn’t happen in the UFC. They crossed paths during the 2017 Rizin Grand Prix tournament and Horiguchi won by third round submission. Second, yeah, this at the Apex. Considering the first fight was at Saitama Super Arena, the rematch being in the UFC’s warehouse is quite a comedown. Doesn’t make much sense either because Kape is ranked #2 and Horiguchi is ranked #5. Depending on how the Flyweight division shakes out, when Pantoja can return etc, this could wind up being a title eliminator. And they’ve stuck it in the Apex. Don’t know what they’re thinking with Horiguchi. I’ve said it before but I would’ve been perfectly OK with them just giving him a title shot his first fight back in the UFC. They didn’t, fine, he won and looked great in his return on the Qatar card in November, then they decided to put him in back-to-back Apex fights. Why? Whatever. Hopefully he goes 2-0 over Kape here and they finally get him back in front of a proper crowd. I can’t remember if I even saw the first fight in full. I think I did but it’s hazy. I’ll give it a watch and review it in here before the rematch.

Rest of the card is gonna get shat on because it’s not strong on names but I think the fights themselves could be decent enough. As I type this, 10 out of the 12 scheduled fights are lower weight class fights, Featherweight or below, which always helps and increases the chance of being enjoyable. Although some of them are in the dead as shite women’s divisions. Hyder Amil vs Christian Rodriguez stands out at first glance. Fili vs Oliveira got added as well. Should be good. Bia Mesquita has looked like a potential force at 135, looking forward to seeing her back in there. Leon Shahbazyan, yep brother of Edmen, makes his Octagon debut. Not much else of note but, yeah, I’m sure it’ll be mostly watchable.

 

Me every time they stick Horiguchi in the Apex…

Edited June 19 by wandshogun09

[jimufctna24]

12 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said:

I can’t remember if I even saw the first fight in full. I think I did but it’s hazy. I’ll give it a watch and review it in here before the rematch.

 

I watched it at some point, but my memory of it is also hazy. 

I seem to recall Kape had brief moments of success, but it was otherwise one way traffic. Kyoji was at, or close to his peak, whereas I assume Kape wasn't (I haven't see much of Kape's UFC run).

 

[wandshogun09]

OK, it’s fight day, just getting around to watching the first Kape vs Horiguchi fight. Not sure if I saw the whole thing at the time or what. It was back when I still used to make the effort to follow the Japanese scene so I definitely saw it in some form. Maybe just seen highlights though. Either way, I barely remember it so this’ll be like a fresh viewing. Couldn’t rely on Fight Pass for this but RIZIN kindly uploaded the full fight to their YouTube channel years ago so this was easily found.

They met back on New Year’s Eve 2017 during the RIZIN Grand Prix tournament, think they had a few tournaments going on at the same time back then, across multiple weight classes. Horiguchi and Kape were in the Bantamweight GP.

Kyoji Horiguchi vs Manel Kape

RIZIN World Grand Prix 2017: Final Round

December 31st 2017

Saitama, Japan

Ha, the Japanese do love their quirky posters, don’t they? This was the Semi Finals of the tournament. Horiguchi had already beaten Hideo Tokoro in the Opening Round by first round knockout, then got a first round TKO over Gabriel Oliveira in the Quarter Finals. Kape also had a couple of quick finishes on the way to the Semis. He stopped Erson Yamamoto (nephew of the late, great KID Yamamoto) in the Opening Round and Ian ‘Uncle Creepy’ McCall in the Quarters.

Intense face-off before the fight gets underway and Kape’s shouting about “motherfucking greatness” or some bollocks. No commentary on this video and sadly no entrances. Just straight down to business.

Round 1:  Zero feeling out process here. They’re both getting right after it. Horiguchi opens up with a nice one, two and a leg kick. Kape coming forward trying to pressure him but he’s already getting tagged coming in.

Already he’s on wobbly legs just seconds in. That might’ve been partly a slip, to be fair, Kape doesn’t look significantly hurt or anything and he’s immediately going for a takedown but settles for tying Horiguchi up against the ropes. Just realised there’s no clock on the screen for this. Not a fan of that. Little bit of jockeying for position in the clinch that goes nowhere with neither being able to assert dominance. Back to striking and Kape falls on his arse trying a headkick, then has another couple of attempts at taking Horiguchi down but is never able to complete it or take it any further than just a body lock with Horiguchi on one knee or something. No damage done out of it and Guch is quickly back up.

Every time Horiguchi gets close to strike, Kape tries to grab him and tie him up. He does it again here but it backfires and Horiguchi ends up on top in Kape’s guard. Not much going on but Horiguchi has a spell late in the round where he does get some ground and pound off and he’s landing punches from the back as the bell goes. Not sure what judging criteria RIZIN were using back then but it was definitely Horiguchi’s round.

Look who’s here…

Wandy back when he accepted he was a baldy and wasn’t doing weird shit with his hair. The good old days.

Round 2: Horiguchi with a body kick right out the gate. Kape comes forward and lands on his arse again, which does make me wonder if he’s having an issue with the canvas. There’s been a few times now when he’s clearly lost his footing. Horiguchi almost slips himself not long after. Sort it out RIZIN. Kape looks more willing to trade strikes in this round but Horiguchi still getting the better of the exchanges. Kape gets poked in the eye, causing a brief pause to the action. Kape clips Horiguchi with a left against the ropes as he’s backing up. Horiguchi with the flash knockdown…

Again though, kind of looked like Kape was more off balance than anything. Horiguchi clearly landed the punch and it was a decent one, and Kape just sort of went down on one arse cheek and popped right back up. Regardless, it all looks good for Horiguchi in the eyes of the judges. But yeah, these two are sliding all over the place. Definitely something up with the ring mat. Horiguchi again…

Like the other times, Kape recovers quickly but it’s looking like he needs a finish or a massively dominant third round to rescue this one now. All the big moments in this fight have came from Horiguchi. Kape’s really not managed to get anything going. Bizarrely, Kape still has the nerve to raise his hand when the round ends. But he’s lying to himself. He can’t be happy with how this fight is going so far. Again, don’t know if this is even being scored on a round by round basis but, yep, easily another Horiguchi round.

Round 3: Horiguchi immediately opens the round with a left headkick and then a jumping high kick. Neither really connect but it just shows how comfortable Horiguchi is at this point in the fight. He’s feeling good about this one, and rightly so. He’s had it all his own way so far. Horiguchi with a hard right and Kape’s feet are slipping all over the gaff again. Fuck me, RIZIN. Horiguchi finds a home for that right hand and drops Kape again…

And this one didn’t look like a slip to me. Kape looked genuinely stunned by that one. To his credit, Kape takes it well and is back on his feet pretty quick. But this is desperate stuff for him now. A clash of heads forces a time out. Nobody was at fault, just one of those unfortunate things, but Horiguchi definitely got the worst of it. The top of Kape’s head twatted him right in the jaw. He gets a bit of time to recover and we’re back at it. Bit more of a sense of urgency now from Kape. He needed this sooner. But even still, Horiguchi is catching him. Horiguchi with the takedown! He’s got full mount and he’s staying low, peppering Kape with punches. He’s setting up the arm triangle, abandons mount and hops to the side, it’s locked in.

And it’s a wrap. Kape is forced to tap late in the third round. Really strong performance from Horiguchi here. Controlled every aspect of the fight, came out on top in most of the exchanges on the feet, won the grappling battle and then put the cherry on top with the late submission.

Winner - Kyoji Horiguchi by submission. Round 3 - 4:27.

Horiguchi went on to knock out Shintaro Ishiwatari in the Finals to win the Grand Prix. Good stuff. The dodgy canvas was unfortunate here but they were both dealing with that so it evens out. I do think it hindered the action though. It’s not like Kape is known for being an all action fighter but I do think we’d have got a better fight out of these two if they weren’t ice skating out there. Oh well. They get to do it again tonight, hopefully with no slippery bollocks. 

I’m almost scared to make a prediction now. Predicting MMA is ridiculously tough at the best of times. There’s always more likely results but so much can happen and there are so many ways to win or lose in MMA. After seeing Gaethje batter Topuria last week, my confidence in myself to pick a winner here is shot. But I think Horiguchi should get it done again. He was so much better than Kape in that first fight and I’m not sure Kape has improved that much in the eight and a half years since. Horiguchi hasn’t really regressed though. Even at 35 years old, he’s been looking as sharp as a tack since returning to the UFC late last year. Kape’s not the most consistent and he can be a frustrating watch but he has looked very good in recent fights. He’s coming into this rematch on a three fight winning streak, all finishes, and he just stopped Brandon Royval in the first round last time out. Which, for me, is probably Kape’s career best win to date. It’s a great time for them to rematch. Kape finally has some momentum, Horiguchi is in great form, they’re both coming off wins and they’re both in the Top 5 in the Flyweight rankings. I’m not sure when Alexandre Pantoja is due back but if it’s gonna be a while, then the winner of this fight would have to be the front runner for the next crack at Joshua Van’s title. If Pantoja is gonna be back soon though, I think he’s getting the shot first. And I think it’s only right he does considering how good of a champion he was, how he lost the belt, how his first fight with Van ended etc. Really hope Horiguchi goes 2-0 over Kape tonight. He’s still looking good but, at 35, he doesn’t have a ton of time left to finally add that UFC belt to his collection. It’s not worth thinking too much about yet because a few things have to happen to make it possible, but I’d be all over a Van vs Horiguchi fight. That sounds like a FOTY contender on paper. Still never been a Japanese UFC champ yet either. I’d love to see Horiguchi become the first.

Edited June 20 by wandshogun09

[Dai]

Looks an OK show for the Apex. When there are a few noticeable names under the main, then thats you can hope for at the Apex. 

Kape has impressed recently, but I'm still picking the class of Horiguchi to be enough to get a fairly comfortable points win

[wandshogun09]

[jimufctna24]

The Kyoji renaissance tour was nice while it lasted 😟

Whether it's his opponents being able to find ways to time him after a few rounds, his chin, his lack of size, or some combination of these factors, Kyoji's biggest weakness has always been that he gets clipped while pretty much dominating fights. Sadly, this fight was another example of that, and the first time he has been stopped by strikes at flyweight. 

[wandshogun09]

Yeah, that main event just made me sad.

Bollocks. Like Jim said, Horiguchi was winning the fight and looking good. I had him winning the first two rounds fairly comfortably. He was 2-0 up on two of the judges scorecards as well. One judge scored the first round for Kape, which I disagree with, but regardless, Horiguchi looked to be well on his way to victory. Must admit though, even as I was watching it, even seeing how Horiguchi appeared to be in control, I couldn’t shake the thoughts of ‘don’t get clipped, don’t get clipped’. I kept thinking about him getting clobbered with that spinning backfist by Sergio Pettis late in a fight he was winning. And sure enough, Kape tagged him in the third round, Horiguchi’s legs turned to jelly and Kape finished him off with the follow ups. That final uppercut coming up under the armpit from behind on the ground reminded me of when Hendo flatlined Fedor in Strikeforce. Brutal. 

Bless him.

Very frustrating result as a Horiguchi fan. And as a 35 year old Flyweight, he was already kind of outstaying his welcome at the top level. Lighter weight class fighters generally don’t have that kind of longevity. I had hopes that he’d become the first Japanese UFC champion and had he won this fight it might’ve bagged him the title shot. I’m not sure he can work his way back now.

Credit where it’s due to Kape though. I didn’t think he’d beat Horiguchi and, although he lost the first couple of rounds, he stuck in there, didn’t get discouraged and when his moment and opportunity came, he pounced on it and made the most of it. I have seen speculation that he’s using PEDs, and there were pics of him during fight week with a full on tit which could be a side effect. But I’m at the point where 1) they’re all probably at it to some degree and 2) does anyone even care about PED use in MMA anymore? I honestly can’t even remember the last time someone popped for PEDs and there was a big fuss about it. No-one seems to give a bollocks like they used to at the height of the USADA era.

I’m not really a fan of Kape. He’s always given off a bit of a twatty vibe to me. But he’s gonna be difficult to deny for the title shot now. I reckon we’ll be getting Van vs Pantoja 2 next. That’s the fight to make and there’s unfinished business that needs settling there. But if Pantoja isn’t good to go soon, I think you have to give Kape the shot now. He’s ranked #2 now (with only champ Van and Pantoja above him), on a four fight win streak, all finishes, and he’s coming off back-to-back stoppages over Royval and Horiguchi. He’s got by far the strongest argument for the title shot outside of Pantoja getting the rematch.

Navajo Stirling and Christian Rodriguez got nice finishes over Ion Cutelaba and Hyder Amil respectively. Nothing amazing but decent wins. Bit disappointed that Amil’s gone on a losing streak. Went 11-0 initially and was consistently entertaining to watch to the point he even dragged a good fight out of dullard William Gomis. Then hits a wall and has gone 0-3 in his last few. Rough game.

It was my first time seeing Murtazali Magomedov and he definitely made quite a first impression. A fucking first round inverted Twister submission in your UFC debut?!

Incredible stuff. For those keeping score, this is only the fourth time someone has won via Twister in the UFC. And not just that, it’s not the usual Twister, it’s a variation. This was the first UFC win via Scottish Twister (invented by ex UFC/PFL fighter Stevie Ray, not the Harlem Heat one). Fight didn’t last long enough to get much of an overall read on him but as a debut this was the perfect way for him to introduce himself on the big stage.

Vinicius Oliveira went a bit Ciryl Gane in his finish over Andre Fili. He looked well on his way to putting Fili away regardless but then threw in those dodgy hammerfists and elbows to the back of the head and that’s put a bit of a cloud over the win. Oh and surprise, surprise, Herb Dean was the ref again. He is fucking shit. Always baffles me when people still claim he’s the best referee in the game. He makes cock ups like this too often for that kind of talk. Shame about those back of the head shots because, all in all, this was a fun fight and I thought Oliveira looked decent up in weight. Definitely a good move for him moving up to Featherweight. If you remember before the Bautista fight last time, he was saying he was having to come down 50lbs to make Bantamweight. Sod that.

Bia Mesquita continues to rack up wins. Another sub over Melissa Mullins. Still undefeated and now 3-0 with three submissions since debuting in the UFC in October. She hasn’t really shown anything beyond her grappling yet and she’s already 35 years old, but honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if she goes quite far with this approach. It’s hardly like the Bantamweight division is full of good fighters. We’re talking about a weight class where Ailin Perez is in the Top 5. Being a one trick pony might not cut it in a lot of divisions but women’s 135? She might not need anything but her BJJ. Speaking of Ailin Perez, I liked Mesquita’s callout of her. “Ailin Perez, hey, you are disgusting for this division. This not the place to shake your ass, I’m gonna kick your ass girl” 🤣 Book it.

Gaston Bolanos vs Michael Aswell Jr was a really good scrap and a pleasant surprise for a fight I had no real expectations for going in. Nice moment with Bolanos dedicating the win to his Dad as well.

The highlight of the prelims for me though was Levan Chokheli smoking Leon Shahbazyan in 23 seconds with a barrage of leg kicks, punches and absolutely folding him with a disgusting left hook to the body.

What a way to make your UFC debut. On the other side, a disastrous debut for Shahbazyan.

Main event result aside, I quite enjoyed this. Not a bad show for an Apex card. 

[Dai]

With the back of the head stuff, and when there's an actual cut on the back of the head, isnt there video review in Vegas? I wont put too much blame on Herb for this one, as stopping it mid flow for a back of the head shot would be hard in this situation, but isnt there stuff where they can review the footage afterwards and change the result? I was thinking why wasn't that getting done when they were showing the replays.

 

Cutelaba fight was bizarre too. He literally gave up during the round. Fighters have quit on their stool before, but I think he is the first ever to quit on the mat, mid round. He went from winning the fight to just sitting there allowing him to get bombed. Looked very strange.