Kyoji Horiguchi releases statement following UFC Vegas 119 defeat

Kyoji Horiguchi 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, marking a setback in his pursuit of UFC flyweight gold. The fight shifted 2:42 into Round 3 as Kape's power ended a bout that had been competitive through two frames. Horiguchi, an American Top Team veteran, defeated Manel Kape in Rizin Fighting Federation in 2017, and he first challenged for the UFC flyweight title in 2015 against Demetrious Johnson. He arrived at UFC Fight Night 279 unbeaten in eight bouts, with recent UFC victories over Tagir Ulanbekov and Amir Albazi. The 35-year-old later posted a brief statement on X via Translate.