Manel
Kape marked his territory as the
Ultimate Fighting Championship’s number one contender in
waiting at 125 pounds.
The Xtreme Couture rep punched out Kyoji
Horiguchi in the third round of their
UFC Fight Night 279 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in
Las Vegas. Kape (23-7, 8-3 UFC) slammed the door 2:42 into Round 3,
avenging his Dec. 31, 2017 submission defeat to the former Rizin
Fighting Federation and Bellator MMA champion.
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Horiguchi (36-7, 9-2 UFC) stayed a step ahead of “Starboy” from a
tactical standpoint through much of the first 10 minutes. In fact,
he secured a takedown and spent almost the entire second round
grinding away on Kape from top position. However, Horiguchi’s
inability to inflict any real damage proved costly.
Kape clipped him with a right hook midway through Round 3, pushed
him to all fours and snuck a devastating uppercut underneath the
armpit that prompted the stoppage.
Meanwhile, surging City Kickboxing prospect Navajo
Stirling kept his perfect professional record intact, as he
dispatched Ion
Cutelaba with punches and elbows in the second round of their
light heavyweight co-main event.
Stirling (10-0, 5-0 UFC) brought it to a close 3:23 into Round
2.
Cutelaba (20-12-1, 9-11-1 UFC) threatened with a guillotine choke
in the first round and a kimura in the second, but the Moldovan
sambo practitioner was largely outgunned in the standup exchanges.
He executed a pair of takedowns in the middle stanza, only to watch
Stirling scramble to advantageous positions. The former Hex Fight
Series champion ultimately stood above the seated Cutelaba and
proceeded to bury him with punches and elbows. Looking like a man
who was resigned to his fate, “The Hulk” offered nothing resembling
intelligent defense.
Stirling, 28, has stopped his last two opponents inside two
rounds.
Further down the main card, Xtreme Couture’s Christian
Rodriguez put fellow Dana White’s Contender Series alum
Hyder
Amil to sleep with a guillotine choke in the first round of
their featherweight showcase.
Amil (11-3, 3-3 UFC) lost consciousness 3:43 into Round
1.
Rodriguez (13-4, 6-4 UFC) was quicker on the draw and packed a much
more powerful wallop. He punctuated an exchange with a devastating
head kick that dropped Amil where he stood in the center of the
cage. Rodriguez pounced with follow-up punches, cinched the
guillotine and waited for the Gilbert
Melendez protégé to go limp.
It was Rodriguez’s first victory via submission in four-plus
years.
Elsewhere, the undefeated Murtazali
Magomedov dazzled in his Octagon debut, as he put away Melsik
Baghdasaryan with a twister in the first round of their
featherweight attraction.
Magomedov (11-0, 1-0 UFC) elicited the tapout 1:17 into Round 1,
authoring the fourth such finish in UFC history.
The 34-year-old Baghdasaryan (8-4, 3-3 UFC) greeted the promotional
newcomer with a body kicks and multiple one-twos to the body.
Magomedov was unimpressed. He crowded Baghdasaryan with punches,
bullied him to the canvas and moved to the back with a body
triangle. Magomedov then allowed his opponent to rotated into him,
cranked on the twister and completed the sensational
submission.
Baghdasaryan has lost three of his past four bouts.
Finally, Sombra Team rep Vinicius
Oliveira disposed of Andre Fili
with an avalanche of punches and elbows in the second round of
their featherweight appetizer. A short-notice replacement for
Giga
Chikadze, Fili (25-14, 13-13 UFC) clocked out 4:56 into Round
2.
Oliveira (24-4, 5-1 UFC) deployed brutal kicks to the Team Alpha
Male mainstay’s lower extremities and paired them with heavy
punching bursts. Fili responded initially, called upon his wealth
of experience, targeted the midsection and doubled over the
Brazilian with two body kicks in the first round. Oliveira
retreated, recovered and returned to business. His unshakable
aggression eventually broke down Fili.
Oliveira trapped the Californian along the fence late in the middle
stanza, let the punches fly and mixed in standing elbows, one of
which cut his opponent near the back of the head. Fili wilted at
the base of the cage and shielded himself in a submissive posture,
necessitating the stoppage.
The 30-year-old Oliveira has rattled off seven wins in eight
appearances.
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