Followers are pushing again towards the UFC over its choice to carry the Manel Cape vs. Kyoji Horiguchi rematch on June 20 inside Meta Apex as a substitute of a sold-out area, arguing that the high-stakes bout with deep historical past deserves an actual crowd.
From Saitama to the highest
Cape and Horiguchi first met within the Rizin World Grand Prix bantamweight semifinals on December 31, 2017 at Saitama Tremendous Area in Japan. The constructing is legendary for being an MMA venue that may maintain roughly 18,000 folks, and the New Yr’s Eve occasion was packed to capability. Horiguchi scored an arm triangle choke on Cape within the third spherical and later that night time stopped Shintaro Ishiwata for the win.
This background is inflicting fan dissatisfaction. In 2017, this matchup befell as a part of the Rizin Grand Prix Finals on one of many largest phases in Japanese MMA. This rematch will happen in a studio-style setting in Las Vegas, with only some hundred tickets obtainable. The visible of the transition from a packed Saitama Tremendous Area walkout to a smaller, managed meta-apex setting has turn into a meme in itself on MMA social media.
Manel Kape vs Kyoji Horiguchi
The stakes are actual. Horiguchi is now again on the UFC roster and has shortly returned to competition, occurring a 2-0 run at flyweight since his return. Cape, who’s listed in current promotional graphics as 22-7, is on the rise and was in line for a title shot earlier than circumstances led to a change of surroundings and he as a substitute seemed for a match with an enormous title.
Kape vs. Horiguchi 2 is scheduled to headline the UFC Battle Evening card at Meta Apex on June twentieth, and as soon as footage of the Joshua Bunn vs. Akira Taira flyweight title combat at UFC 327 in April is launched, there’s discuss that the winner will possible turn into the following No. 1 contender. For a lot of followers, the extent of significance of that division is one other argument for giving video games a bigger venue and extra intense environment.
Followers are already complaining in regards to the newest schedule. It is a continuation of the Apex present’s weakening combat night time lineup that feels disconnected from the reside viewers power that made the promotion so well-liked. Throwing a rematch with this sort of historical past and divisional outcomes into that setting has been a straightforward goal for criticism, with X’s put up calling on the UFC to “put a cease to this” and arguing that the Kape vs. Horiguchi combat “deserves to happen within the area” somewhat than the head of the meta.
