Manel Kape: 'I was a Ferrari in the wrong garage' in first Kyoji Horiguchi fight

LAS VEGAS – Manel Kape is ready to get his revenge against Kyoji Horiguchi and earn a UFC title shot.Kape (22-7 MMA, 7-3 UFC) runs things back with Horiguchi (36-5 MMA, 9-1 UFC) in Saturday's UFC Fight Night 279 (Paramount+) main event at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas.Horiguchi submitted Kape by third-round arm-triangle choke in the 2017 Rizin bantamweight grand prix semifinal, but Kape vows he is a different fighter now.

The 32-year-old has scored three straight knockouts, most recently a Performance of the Night over Brandon Royval at UFC on ESPN 73."Good fighter, I'm happy to face him right now," Kape told MMA Junkie of Horiguchi on Wednesday's media day. "Back in the day, I didn't have any resources.

I was a fearless young kid with a lot of talent. I was a Ferrari in the wrong garage. So, right now I have everything, what I'm dreaming to have, everything I need to be the better athlete and to face him, equally to equally.

One thing I can tell right now, I'm the side A and he's the side B."Kape is currently the No. 2 UFC flyweight.

While Alexandre Pantoja will likely get his rematch against UFC champion Joshua Van next, Kape believes he's facing the sternest test of them all."One hundred percent, that's why I picked this guy, so I can scare the other guys that are maybe going to (fight) for the title," Kape said of Horiguchi. "So if I face this guy, I didn't wait because I had the option to wait for the title shot.

I picked a stronger opponent than both of them, so this just says a lot about me, about how confident I am, about how I've been putting in work, and that I have the mentality of a champion. No matter who I will face."This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Vegas 119: Manel Kape confident he's closed gap on Kyoji Horiguchi