From The White House back to the UFC Apex this weekend with a flyweight main event between two top five contenders.
Manel Kape will be looking to secure a title shot when he takes on Kyoji Horiguchi as the main course but there are plenty of quality fights on the menu.
My thoughts and betting plays can be read below.
Manel Kape is a former Rizin Bantamweight champion who entered the UFC back in 2021 but things didn’t go to plan when he first joined the biggest MMA promotion in the world.
He lost his first two fights in the UFC by decision but has since lost just once in his last eight to solidify himself in the top five.
Three successive knockout wins, including Brandon Royval in December 2025 means another win and he will be right in the conversation for a title shot.
Standing in his way on Sunday is 35 year old Japanese fighter Kyoji Horiguchi who is also a former Rizin Bantamweight champion entering the UFC at Flyweight.
He is actually a double champion in that promotion, as well as a Bellator Bantamweight champion and he has won both his fights in the UFC so far.
This is a high level mixed martial arts fight with plenty of skill on display between two evenly matched opponents.
Kape has power in his hands and is not afraid to stand and trade whereas Horiguchi will pick apart his opponents with speed and pressure.
If he can avoid the big shots, I’m siding with the Japanese fighter to put his hand up for a title shot.
Not everything has gone to plan for Ion Cutelaba and his record stands at 20 wins and 11 losses at 32 years of age.
He is a much better mixed martial artist than that record suggests and he comes into this fight having won three of his last four.
This includes two submission finishes and a split decision loss.
New Zealander Navajo Stirling comes out of City Kickboxing which of course produced Israel Adesanya and the current UFC Light Heavyweight champion Carlos Ulberg.
He won a UFC contract through Dana White’s Contender Series with a first round knockout in September 2024 and has won all four of his fights in the UFC since.
Undefeated in nine professional fights, five of which have been knockouts, he comes into the biggest fight of his career full of confidence.
Patience will be needed but I think he can work his opponent out and land that big shot at some stage within the three rounds.
Hyder Amil was born in the Philippines but spent the majority of his life in the United States and didn’t start his pro MMA career until he was 27 years old.
He won his first 11 straight fights including three in the UFC but comes into this event on a two fight losing streak.
Christian Rpdriguez entered the UFC in 2022 and put together four wins in a row but has just one win in his last four.
His last two losses have gone to the judges including a split decision loss to Andre Fili almost 12 months ago.
This is another fight that could go either way but I’m siding with the much younger fighter who I predict to be busy and score more points over the three rounds.