Followers are tearing into the UFC over the choice to run the Manel Kape vs Kyoji Horiguchi rematch contained in the Meta Apex on June 20 as a substitute of placing it in a full enviornment, arguing {that a} excessive‑stakes combat with deep historical past deserves an actual crowd.
From Saitama to Apex
Kape and Horiguchi first met within the Rizin World Grand Prix bantamweight semifinals on December 31, 2017, at Saitama Tremendous Enviornment in Japan, a constructing that famously holds round 18,000 for MMA and was offered out for that New Yr’s Eve occasion. Horiguchi submitted Kape with an arm‑triangle choke within the third spherical earlier than happening to cease Shintaro Ishiwatari later that very same night time to win the event.
That backdrop is driving the fan frustration. In 2017, the matchup was a part of a Rizin Grand Prix finale on one among Japanese MMA’s largest phases; this time, the rematch is slotted right into a studio‑model atmosphere in Las Vegas with just a few hundred tickets obtainable. The visible of going from a packed Saitama Tremendous Enviornment walkout to the managed, smaller Meta Apex setting has develop into a meme in itself on MMA social media.
Manel Kape vs Kyoji Horiguchi
The stakes are actual. Horiguchi, now again on the UFC roster, has put collectively a 2‑0 run at flyweight since returning and has shortly climbed again into rivalry. Kape, 22‑7 as listed on latest promotional graphics, is coming off a surge that had him in line for a title alternative earlier than circumstances shifted the division and left him on the lookout for a big-name combat as a substitute.
Kape vs Horiguchi 2 will headline a UFC Struggle Night time card on the Meta Apex on June 20, and that the winner is being talked about as a probable subsequent No. 1 contender as soon as the Joshua Van vs Tatsuro Taira flyweight title image at UFC 327 in April clears up. For a lot of followers, that stage of divisional significance is one other argument for giving the combat a bigger venue and a extra charged environment.
Followers have already been grumbling in regards to the trendy schedule: weaker Struggle Night time line‑ups and a gentle stream of Apex reveals that really feel lower off from the stay‑crowd vitality that made the promotion’s increase years so common. Dropping a rematch with this sort of historical past and divisional consequence into that setting has develop into a simple goal for criticism, with posts on X calling for the UFC to “STOP THIS” and insisting that Kape vs Horiguchi 2 “deserves to be in an enviornment” moderately than the Meta Apex.
