Kyoji Horiguchi’s title hopes took a hit on Saturday. |
Getty/UFC
Kyoji
Horiguchi’s hopes at making a late career run at
UFC flyweight gold hit a serious speed bump on Saturday
night.
The American Top Team product suffered a third-round technical
knockout loss to Manel Kape
in the
UFC Fight Night 279 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on
Saturday night. Things were going well for Horiguchi in the first
two frames before Kape flashed his formidable power during the
decisive sequence 2:42 into the third stanza.
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The Dream Doesn’t Die
Horiguchi, who defeated Kape in Rizin Fighting Federation in 2017,
initially challenged for the UFC flyweight title in April 2015,
when he suffered a fifth-round submission loss to Demetrious
Johnson. The 35-year-old reflected on the loss in a brief
statement on social media.
“Thank you all for your support,” Horiguchi wrote on X (via
Translate). “I got spectacularly knocked out. I’m truly sorry. Kape
was strong. “Thank you! This is why I can’t quit martial arts. I’ll
retrain and be back in no time! I’m not giving up on my dream
yet.”
皆さん応援ありがとうございました。
派手にぶっ飛ばされました。本当にすみません。ケイプ選手強かった。
ありがとうございました！これだから格闘技は辞められないよね。
鍛え直してまたすぐに戻ってきます！
まだ俺の夢は諦めない。— 堀口恭司 Kyoji
Horiguchi (@kyoji1012)
June 21, 2026
Horiguchi had been unbeaten in his last eight professional outings
prior to facing Kape. He kicked off his second UFC tenure with
back-to-back triumphs over Tagir
Ulanbekov and Amir Albazi.