Horiguchi Falls to Kape — but the Dream of Japan's First UFC Champion Lives On
Nine years on, Kyoji Horiguchi was stopped by Manel Kape in the third round. We sit with the heartbreak — and the very real hope now carried by Tatsuro Taira and a new generation.
Key points
- Kape stopped Horiguchi by TKO at 2:42 of round 3 (June 20, 2026), avenging his 2017 loss.
- No Japanese man has ever won a UFC title — Horiguchi, Asakura, Uno and Okami all came up short.
- Tatsuro Taira (18-2, born 2000) is now Japan's brightest hope after his own title bid vs Joshua Van.
- The setback hurts, but Japan's flyweight depth and RIZIN pipeline keep the dream alive.
A rematch nine years in the making
In the Las Vegas main event on June 20, 2026, Kyoji Horiguchi met Manel Kape for the first time since 2017, when Horiguchi submitted him in the RIZIN World Grand Prix final. This time the story flipped: a Kape right hand hurt Horiguchi, and the barrage that followed forced the stoppage at 2:42 of round three. Kape avenged the loss and called for a flyweight title shot.
The summit no Japanese man has reached
It stings because of what Horiguchi represents. A UFC men's title has never gone to a Japanese fighter. Horiguchi himself challenged Demetrious Johnson in 2015; Kai Asakura fell to Alexandre Pantoja in 2024; Caol Uno, Hayato Sakurai, Yushin Okami and others all reached for gold and came home without it. This loss joins that long, painful lineage.
And yet — the torch passes
Hope is not lost; it is younger. Tatsuro Taira, born in 2000 and 18-2, challenged champion Joshua Van at UFC 328 in May 2026 and came up short by fifth-round TKO — but he is barely in his mid-20s and already a top-three flyweight. Behind him sits real depth: Asakura, a steady stream of RIZIN-forged talent, and a domestic scene that keeps producing world-level fighters.
Turning heartbreak into fuel
Horiguchi's loss is a hard night for Japanese MMA — but the dream of a first Japanese UFC champion is not a question of if so much as who and when. The veterans built the road. The next generation only has to walk it.