We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 184 event in Las Vegas.
We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 184 event in Las Vegas.
Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Thursday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).
Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the UFC Fight Night 184 event staff predictions we release Friday ahead of the event. UFC Fight Night 184 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event streams on ESPN+.
Make your picks for the six main card fights below.
Former Rizin champion Manel Kape’s UFC debut is set to take place before the year ends.
[autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag] will finally make his UFC debut when he takes on one of the flyweight division’s top contenders.
Kape (15-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will face [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] (22-5 MMA, 6-3 UFC) on Dec. 19 in the promotion’ final event of the year at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Two people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous since the UFC has yet to make an official announcement.
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Kape, a former Rizin FF bantamweight champion, was scheduled to make his UFC debut against Rogerio Bontorin on Aug. 15, but his fight was scrapped after Bontorin was forced out because of an ankle injury. Kape has won his past three fights, all by finish.
After a three-fight winning streak, Pantoja has seen his momentum take a halt, losing two of his past three. He is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Askar Askarov at UFC on ESPN+ 30 in July.
With the addition, the UFC’s Dec. 19 lineup includes:
Former Rizin FF bantamweight champion Manel Kape will look to gatecrash the flyweight Top 10 as he takes on Rogerio Bontonin on his debut at UFC 252.
Former Rizin bantamweight champion [autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag] will look to instantly blast his way into title contention as he faces Top 10 opposition on his octagon debut.
Kape (15-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will take on No. 9-ranked flyweight contender [autotag]Rogerio Bontorin[/autotag] at UFC 252, which is scheduled to take place on August 15 at a venue to be confirmed.
Kape recently confirmed the fight on his Facebook page after an initial report from Combate earlier this month.
After going 9-1 on the regional scene in Portugal, Kape built his name during a nine-fight stint with Japanese promotion Rizin FF. His tenure in Japan saw him go 6-3 with the promotion, with all six victories coming by way of stoppage. He arrives in the UFC’s flyweight division riding a three-fight win streak, with his most recent performance featuring an eye-catching second-round knockout of Kai Asakura as he captured the Rizin FF bantamweight title.
Now a UFC fighter, Kape will take on Bontorin (16-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC), who is looking to bounce back to form after suffering the second loss of his professional career. A graduate of the inaugural season of Dana White’s Contender Series, Bontorin picked up UFC victories over Magomed Bibulatov and Raulian Paiva before dropping a unanimous decision to former title challenger Ray Borg at UFC on ESPN+ 25 in February.
UFC 252 takes place Saturday, August 15 at a venue to be confirmed. The card airs on ESPN+ pay per view following prelims on ESPN+ and ESPN.
Manel Kape wants to go big game hunting in his UFC debut.
[autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag] wants to go big game hunting in his UFC debut.
Kape (15-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC), the former Rizin FF champion who signed a UFC contract last week, is already putting eyes on big names as he tries to make a splash from the outset in the flyweight division.
In his mind, there’s no better option that fighting another ex-champ who could soon also be trying to make a mark at 125 pounds. [autotag]Cody Garbrandt[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) announced on Saturday he’s planning to drop down from bantamweight, and Kape was quick to greet him with a challenge (via Twitter):
Like I say in my last post, “my contract already save this division (125) if @Cody_Nolove really come to fight in my division, bring him to my debut #EasyMoney !!!
— マネル・ケイプ Manel Prodígio Kape (@ManelKape) April 5, 2020
My contract already save the 125 division in @ufc, let’s make Manel Kape vs @Cody_Nolove in my first debut!!!
Kape, 26, hails from Angola and has won four of his past five bouts. He’s finished his opponent in all but one of his 15 career victories, and wrote Garbrandt would be “easy money” to join his list of victims.
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Garbrandt, 28, said he would be fighting at bantamweight one more time before moving down to flyweight. The former UFC titleholder has lost his past three bouts, but is hopeful to rebound in his next outing.
When that will be remains a mystery, though. The upcoming UFC schedule remains in limbo as the promotion attempts to navigate complicated waters during the coronavirus pandemic. Three events have already been postponed, and there’s a chance more will follow.
RIZIN bantamweight champion Manel Kape is headed to the UFC.
[autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag] is headed to the UFC.
RIZIN bantamweight champion Kape (15-4 MMA, 0-0 (FC) has signed a four-fight deal with the UFC. Kape’s team, AKA Thailand, confirmed the news Monday after an initial report by Combate.
Kape arrived on the national spotlight in the RIZIN Fighting World Grand Prix 2017. After he defeated Erson Yamamoto with a 71-second head-kick knockout, he was matched up with former UFC flyweight title challenger Ian McCall in the second round of the tournament.
At the pre-fight weigh-ins, Kape and McCall engaged in a physical altercation. After Kape slapped McCall in the back of the head, McCall fired back. The scuffle built the hype around the fight, which Kape ultimately won by first-round doctor’s stoppage due to a cut.
From there, Kape lost three out of four fights to Kyoji Horiguchi, Kai Asakura and Ulka Sasaki. In April 2019, Kape kicked off a three-fight winning streak with a second-round TKO of Seiichiro Ito. At RIZIN 18 in August, Kape finished Takeya Mizugaki by strikes.
In his most recent outing, Kape avenged a past loss. At RIZIN 20 in December, Kape knocked out Asakura with punches in Round 2. The win earned him the RIZIN title and ultimately segued into his UFC deal.
No date or opponent for Kape’s debut is known at this time.
Japanese MMA promotion Rizin FF rounded off the decade by crowning two new champions at its New Year’s Eve event Saitama.
Japanese MMA promotion Rizin FF ended the decade by crowning two new champions at its traditional end-of-year event Tuesday at the Saitama Super Arena.
The main event of the evening saw Portuguese pocket rocket [autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag] stun favored Japanese star [autotag]Kai Asakura[/autotag] in the second round to capture the bantamweight title vacated earlier in the year by the injured Kyoji Horiguchi.
After Asakura’s stunning one-round demolition of the champion in a non-title fight at Rizin FF 18, many believed the Japanese challenger (14-2 MMA, 6-1 Rizin) was the natural successor to Horiguchi’s throne, but the explosive Kape (15-4 MMA, 6-3 Rizin) had other ideas as he imposed his will on the bout from the opening bell and did not relent until the referee had waved off the action 38 seconds into the second round.
Kape started out the aggressor as he looked to blitz in and land heavy punches, while Asakura seemed content to work from the outside and catch his opposite number as he stepped into rage. But it was Kape who had the better of the opening round as he landed a succession of big punches, plus an eye-catching head kick, in a high-energy opening frame.
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After finding himself largely on the receiving end through the first five minutes, Asakura came out of his corner for Round 2 looking to take control of the exchanges as he upped his aggression level. But things went spectacularly wrong for the Japanese star as, after stepping in and connecting with a two-punch combination, he was badly dropped by a powerful counter from Kape. The AKA Thailand man then followed his man to the mat and battered him with ground strikes until referee Jason Herzog decided he had seen enough and waved off the fight inside the opening minute of the round.
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Also crowned a new champion was South Korea’s [autotag]Seo Hee Ham[/autotag], who produced a superb all-round performance to defeat reigning super atomweight champion [autotag]Ayaka Hamasaki[/autotag] via split decision after three rounds.
Ham (23-8 MMA, 3-0 Rizin) came out swinging in the first round, then had Hamasaki trapped in a triangle choke for more than two minutes of Round 2 as she pushed hard to finish the defending champion. But Hamasaki (19-3 MMA, 5-1 Rizin) held on and survived the round, leaving Seo struggling to walk back to her corner due to the lactic acid build-up in her legs from her extended submission attempt.
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But any thoughts of the South Korean challenger suffering were put to bed early in the third as the pair went toe to toe in the center of the ring. Hamasaki eventually took the action to the mat and had Seo pinned to the canvas, taking shots, but referee Herzog saw the strikes weren’t concussive or damaging, and allowed the fight to go all the way to the scorecards.
And when the judges’ verdicts were read, it was a slightly surprised and very emotional Seo whose hand was raised in victory, as she avenged her loss to Hamasaki in Japanese female promotion Jewels eight years earlier.
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Full Rizin FF 20 live results include:
MAIN CARD
Manel Kape def. Kai Asakura via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 0:38 – for vacant bantamweight title (PHOTOS)
Seo Hee Ham def. Ayaka Hamasaki via split decision – for women’s super atomweight title (PHOTOS)
Mikuru Asakura def. John Teixeira via unanimous decision (PHOTOS)
Rena Kubota def. Lindsey VanZandt via TKO (corner stoppage) – Round 3, 4:42 (PHOTOS)
PRELIMINARY CARD
Tofiq Musaev def. Patricky Freire via unanimous decision – for lightweight title (PHOTOS)
Jiri Prochazka def. C.B. Dollaway via KO (punch) – Round 1, 1:55 – for light heavyweight title (PHOTOS)
Simon Biyong def. Vitaly Shemetov via TKO (tap due to strikes) – Round 2, 0:58 (PHOTOS)
Hiromasa Ogikubo def. Shintaro Ishiwatari via split decision (PHOTOS)
Jake Heun def. Satoshi Ishii via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:12 (PHOTOS)
Patrick Mix def. Yuki Motoya via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 1:36 (PHOTOS)
Miyuu Yamamoto def. Suwanan Boonsorn via unanimous decision (PHOTOS)
Patricky Freire def. Luiz Gustavo via TKO (punches and soccer kick) – Round 1, 0:28 (PHOTOS)
Tofiq Musaev def. Johnny Case via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:46 (PHOTOS)
Follow the results as they happen with MMA Junkie’s live coverage of Rizin FF 20 in Saitama, Japan.
Japan’s iconic Saitama Super Arena plays host to its second major MMA event in the space of three days as top Japanese promotion Rizin FF stages its annual New Year’s Eve spectacular.
Rizin FF 20 features a trio of title fights, with Japanese contender — and the man who stunned Kyoji Horiguchi inside a round at Rizin FF 18 — [autotag]Kai Asakura[/autotag], takes on the explosive [autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag] for the vacant bantamweight title in the event’s headline bout.
Reigning Rizin champions [autotag]Ayaka Hamasaki[/autotag] and [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] are also set for action as they put their super atomweight and light heavyweight titles on the line against [autotag]Seo Hee Ham[/autotag] and [autotag]C.B. Dollaway[/autotag] respectively.
The event also features the semifinals and final of the lightweight grand prix tournament, with Bellator star [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] and former UFC lightweight [autotag]Johnny Case[/autotag] on opposite sides of the draw heading into the final four.
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Rizin FF 20 live results include:
MAIN CARD
Kai Asakura vs. Manel Kape – for vacant bantamweight title
Champion Ayaka Hamasaki vs. Seo Hee Ham – for women’s super atomweight title
Mikuru Asakura vs. John Teixeira
Rena Kubota vs. Lindsey VanZandt
PRELIMINARY CARD
TBA vs. TBA – lightweight grand prix final
Champion Jiri Prochazka vs. C.B. Dollaway – for light heavyweight title
Simon Biyong vs. Vitaly Shemetov
Shintaro Ishiwatari vs. Hiromasa Ogikubo
Jake Heun vs. Satoshi Ishii
Patrick Mix vs. Yuki Motoya
Suwanan Boonsorn vs. Miyuu Yamamoto
Patricky Freire vs. Luiz Gustavo – lightweight grand prix semifinal
Johnny Case vs. Tofiq Musaev – lightweight grand prix semifinal
A fired-up Mandel Kape rips a cardboard cutout of Kai Asakura apart, then gets in his face at the weigh-ins.
[autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag] is fired up.
Prior to facing off with [autotag]Kai Asakura[/autotag] at the Rizin FF 20 weigh-ins, Kape sent an early message to his opponent by tearing his cardboard cutout to pieces and declaring, “Nanda yo omae,” which translates to “You are already dead.”
The two meet in a rematch for Rizin’s vacant bantamweight title Tuesday at the promotion’s New Year’s Eve show at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, near Tokyo. Monday, they engaged in an intense faceoff at the weigh-ins ahead of their title fight.
Akamura (14-1 MMA, 6-0 Rizin FF) narrowly edged Kape (14-4 MMA, 5-3 Rizin FF) in 2018 with a split decision at Rizin FF 10.
Currently riding a six-fight winning streak, Akamura may have 2019’s biggest upset. He shocked the MMA world by taking out two-promotion bantamweight champion Kyoji Horiguchi in a little more than a minute in a non-title bout in August. He followed that with another first-round finish over UFC veteran Ulka Sasaki, breaking his jaw in 54 seconds.
That set up the highly anticipated rematch between Akamura and Horiguchi, this time for the title. But Horiguchi was forced out due to a knee injury that required surgery. He decided to relinquish the belt, which set up the bout between Akamura and Kape for the vacant 135-pound title.
Kape is coming off back-to-back second-round finishes over Seiichiro Ito and UFC veteran Takeya Mizugaki. He is looking to avenge his loss to Akamura and capture the bantamweight title.
The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.
MMA Junkie’s Simon Head looks ahead to Rizin FF’s end-of-year spectacular at the Saitama Super Arena on New Year’s Eve.
Things didn’t work out as originally planned for Rizin FF, but the Japanese promotion’s New Year’s Eve spectacular at the Saitama Super Arena will still finish with a wild scrap for their bantamweight title.
Rizin FF 20 was all set to feature the hotly-anticipated rematch between Kyoji Horiguchi and the man who shocked the MMA world when he finished the two-promotion bantamweight champion in their non-title meeting at Rizin FF 18 in October, [autotag]Kai Asakura[/autotag].
Asakura’s 68-second demolition of Horiguchi in Nagoya stunned the Japanese MMA community, and when Asakura (14-1, 6-0 Rizin FF) repeated the trick with a 54-second knockout of Ulka Sasaki at Rizin 19 that left the former UFC fighter with a broken jaw, it was clear that the 26-year-old was the undeniable number-one contender for Horiguchi’s title.
Everything seemed set for an end-of-year showdown in Saitama, but disaster struck in November when news emerged that Horiguchi had sustained a knee injury that would require surgery and an estimated layoff of around 10 months. But, in an honorable move from the American Top Team man, Horiguchi decided to relinquish his Rizin and Bellator bantamweight titles to free up the belts and allow Rizin to book an alternative title fight for New Year’s Eve.
Now the vacant bantamweight strap will be up for grabs in the night’s main event, with Asakura taking on the explosive [autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag] (, whose second-round knockouts of Seiichiro Ito and Takeya Mizugaki at Rizin FF 15 and 18 respectively made him a compelling replacement opponent for Dec. 31. And with Asakura taking the spoils when the pair battled to a split decision back in May 2018, there’s fighting pride, as well as a championship belt, at stake.
Hamasaki and Seo set for super-atomweight showdown
A second title fight will also feature at the top end of the main card, with reigning Rizin women’s super atomweight champion [autotag]Ayaka Hamasaki[/autotag] returning to action to face the challenge of South Korea’s [autotag]Seo Hee Ham[/autotag] in a title fight between fighters with a combined 51 fights to their name.
Hamasaki (19-2, 5-0 Rizin FF) captured the vacant title at Rizin FF 14 last December via second-round armbar finish of Kanna Asakura, then defended her title with a unanimous decision against Jihn Yu Frey in June. Most recently, she armbarred Suwanan Boonsorn in a non-title showcase at Rizin FF 18. Now she takes on former UFC strawweight Seo (22-8, 2-0 Rizin FF) Hee Ham, who hasn’t lost since departing the UFC at the end of 2016.
Rizin FF women’s atomweight champion: Ayaka Hamasaki (L) with Seo Hee Ham
Seo has won five in a row, with her last two victories coming via stoppage inside the Rizin ring. Tomo Maesawa was dispatched inside a round, then Seo finished Japanese amateur wrestling icon Miyuu Yamamoto via second-round TKO at Rizin FF 19 in October. Now the 32-year-old from Busan will bid to capture her second title since leaving the UFC as she aims to add the Rizin title to the Road FC atomweight title she won in December 2017.
Dolloway aims for redemption – and a championship belt
A USADA anti-doping suspension may have left [autotag]C.B. Dolloway[/autotag] unable to compete Stateside, but the MMA free-agent has been handed not just a lifeline, but the opportunity of a lifetime, as he takes on reigning champion [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] for the Rizin light heavyweight title.
Dolloway (17-9, 0-0 Rizin FF) was handed a two-year ban by USADA after a pair out-of-competition tests came back positive, while an IV infusion was also adjudged to be over the allowable limit.
It resulted in Dolloway’s eventual release from the UFC, with the American seemingly banned from competition until mid-December 2020. But with Rizin not recognizing USADA’s suspensions, Dolloway is free to fight for the Japanese promotion, and will challenge the dominant champ Prochazka (25-3-1, 10-1 Rizin FF), who is riding a 10-fight, four-year win streak. The big Czech has finished nine of those 10 victories, with eight of those coming inside the opening round.
Lightweight grand prix reaches its climax
In addition to the three title fights on the card, Rizin FF 20 will also feature the two semifinals, then the final, of the promotion’s lightweight grand prix tournament.
The semis will see America’s [autotag]Johnny Case[/autotag] face off with dangerous Azerbaijani contender [autotag]Tofiq Musaev[/autotag], while the other half of the draw features Bellator star [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag], who will take on fellow countryman [autotag]Luiz Gustavo[/autotag].
The four men will contest their semifinal matchups early on the preliminary card, with the two winners facing off in the tournament final in the final bout before the intermission.
And finally…
Look out for Bellator bantamweight contender [autotag]Patrick Mix[/autotag], who will be representing his promotion with pride as he takes on former DEEP bantamweight champion [autotag]Yuki Motoya[/autotag].
Former King of the Cage bantamweight champ Mix has been one of the big success stories of Bellator’s lower weight classes after joining the promotion midway through the year and producing a pair of highlight-reel first-round submissions.
After his Suloev stretch finish of Isiah Chapman at Bellator 232, Mix told MMA Junkie he was only just scratching the surface of his capabilities, and now he gets the chance to showcase his grappling prowess inside the Rizin ring.
And perhaps the biggest reception of the night could come early on the card, as [autotag]Miyuu Yamamoto[/autotag] returns to action against [autotag]Suwanan Boonsorn[/autotag] (4-2, 0-1 Rizin FF). Yamamoto (5-4, 5-4 Rizin FF) is still competing in MMA and grappling tournaments at the age of 45, and the former amateur wrestling phenom and sister of the late, great Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto remains a firm favorite with the Japanese fight fans wherever she competes.
Japan’a Rizin FF has confirmed a clutch of new matchups for their end-of-year event, as well as their contributions to Bellator 237.
Japanese promotion Rizin FF has confirmed a clutch of new matchups for their end-of-year event, as well as their contributions to Bellator 237.
Rizin FF 20 takes place Dec. 31 at Saitama Super Arena in Japan. In the night’s headliner, [autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag] (14-4) has been added to face the previously announced [autotag]Kai Asakura[/autotag] (14-1) for the Rizin bantamweight title recently vacated by the injured Kyoji Horiguchi.
That brings the total number of Rizin title fights on the card to three.
A host of other fight bookings has also been made for the event, with Russia’s [autotag]Vitaly Shemetov[/autotag] (23-10) vs. EFC light heavyweight champion [autotag]Simon Biyong[/autotag] (6-1), [autotag]Jake Heun[/autotag] (14-9) vs. Olympic gold medalist [autotag]Satoshi Ishii[/autotag] (22-10-1) and former Pancrase bantamweight champion [autotag]Shintaro Ishiwatari[/autotag] (26-7-4) will take on “The Ultimate Fighter 24” runner-up [autotag]Hiromasa Ogikubo[/autotag] (19-4-2) in a bantamweight title eliminator, with the winner set to face the winner of the Asakura-Kape matchup early in 2020.
Rizin also announced a pair of new matchups for their co-promoted Dec. 29 event, Bellator 237, with 2017 Rizin grand prix champion [autotag]Kanna Asakura[/autotag] (15-4) set to face [autotag]Jayme Hinshaw[/autotag] (4-3), while heavyweights are set to collide as Japan’s [autotag]Shoma Shibisai[/autotag] (5-2) takes on Russia’s [autotag]Sergey Shemetov[/autotag] (9-6).
Rizin FF 20 confirmed fights include:
Kai Asakura vs. Manel Kape – for vacant bantamweight title
Champ Jiri Prochazka vs. C.B. Dollaway – for light heavyweight title
Champ Ayaka Hamasaki vs. Seo Hee Ham – for super atomweight title
Johnny Case vs. Tofiq Musaev – lightweight grand prix semifinal
Patricky “Pitbull” Freire vs. Luiz Gustavo – lightweight grand prix semifinal
