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TOP 5 FLYWEIGHTS REMATCH IN MUST-SEE META APEX MAIN EVENT

Published

3 months ago

May 20, 2026

South Florida Insider

TOP 5 FLYWEIGHTS (#2) MANEL KAPE AND (#5) KYOJI HORIGUCHI REMATCH IN MUST-SEE META APEX MAIN EVENT.

FEATURED BOUT: (#15) FARID BASHARAT vs ETHYN EWING.

May 19th, 2026

UFC® returns to Meta APEX on June 20 with an entertaining card headlined by a must-see rematch between No. 2 ranked UFC flyweight contender Manel Kape and No. 5 ranked Kyoji Horiguchi. Also on the card, No. 15 ranked UFC bantamweight contender Farid Basharat meets rising Ethyn Ewing.

UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: KAPE vs. HORIGUCHI takes place Saturday, June 20 in Las Vegas. The prelims will air at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT, followed by the main card airing at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. All bouts will stream live on Paramount+.

Tickets for UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: KAPE vs. HORIGUCHI will go on sale Friday, May 22 at 10 a.m. PT and are available at AXS.com. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. UFC Fight Club® will have the opportunity to purchase tickets on Wednesday, May 20 at 10 a.m. PT via the website UFCFightClub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, May 21 at 10 a.m. PT. To access the pre-sale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

Meta APEX VIP Experience packages are available via On Location, UFC’s Official VIP Experience Provider. Enjoy exclusive access with an official ticket package that includes premium seating, all-inclusive hospitality, in-seat beverage service, meet-and-greets with UFC Octagon Girls and more. Visit UFCVIP.com for more information.

Kape (22-7, fighting out of Phuket, Thailand by way of Porto, Portugal) aims to deliver another bonus-earning performance. Known for highlight-reel finishes, Kape has entertained fans in victories over Brandon Royval, Asu Almabayev and Bruno Silva. He now intends to even the score with Horiguchi and secure his first UFC title opportunity.

Former UFC title challenger Horiguchi (36-5 1NC, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla. by way of Gunma, Japan) looks to remain undefeated in his second tenure with the promotion. A well-rounded competitor, he has climbed back into the division Top 5 with definitive wins over Amir Albazi and Tagir Ulanbekov. Horiguchi now plans to secure his biggest victory yet with another finish over Kape.

Undefeated Basharat (15-0, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla. by way of Paktia, Afghanistan) steps back into the Octagon for the second time in 2026. A signee from Season 6 of Dana White’s Contender Series, Basharat has proven himself as a rising talent with victories over Jean Matsumoto, Chris Gutierrez and Victor Hugo. He now has his sights set on retaining his perfect record by beating Ewing in dominant fashion.

Ewing (10-2, fighting out of Yorba Linda, Calif.) seeks to keep his momentum going by taking out his third undefeated opponent in a row. A talented striker, Ewing burst onto the UFC scene with notable performances over Malcolm Wellmaker and Rafael Estevam. He now aims to deliver his best showing yet and break into the Top 15 rankings

Additional bouts include:

No. 10 ranked UFC bantamweight contender Karol Rosa (19-7, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) looks to defend her spot in the rankings against No. 14 Luana Santos (10-2, fighting out of Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Heavyweight contenders collide as Jhonata Diniz (9-2, fighting out of Curitiba, Brazil) faces UFC newcomer Jose Montanha (6-1, fighting out of Curitiba, Brazil)
No. 15 ranked UFC bantamweight contender Bia Mesquita (7-0, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla. by way of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) aims to remain undefeated when she takes on Melissa Mullins (7-2, fighting out of Oxford, England)
Light heavyweight action sees Ion Cutelaba (20-11-1 1NC, fighting out of Chisinau, Moldova) battle rising prospect Navajo Stirling (9-0, fighting out of Auckland, New Zealand)
Undefeated flyweight Andre Lima (11-0, fighting out of Sao Paulo, Brazil) looks to make a statement against Kevin Borjas (10-5, fighting out of Lima, Peru)
Gaston Bolanos (8-5, fighting out of Dublin, Calif. by way of Lima, Peru) and Michael Aswell (11-4, fighting out of Houston, Texas) go toe-to-toe at featherweight
An exciting featherweight bout pits Hyder Amil (11-2, fighting out of San Rafael, Calif.) against Christian Rodriguez (12-4, fighting out of Milwaukee, Wisc.)
Allan Nascimento (22-6, fighting out of Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Mitch Raposo (10-3, fighting out of Fall River, Mass.) clash in a flyweight bout
Melsik Baghdasaryan (8-3, fighting out of Glendale, Calif.) plans to spoil the UFC debut of undefeated Dana White’s Contender Series signee Murtazali Magomedov (10-0, fighting out of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan)

For the latest information on bout announcements and additional information for this event, please visit www.ufc.com. All bouts are subject to change.

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