Cooper Albers breaks down his DraftKings Pick6 selections for UFC Fight Night: Kape vs. Horiguchi at the Meta APEX.
And just like that, we’re back at the Apex.
Following last weekend’s historic spectacle on the South Lawn of the White House, the UFC returns to Las Vegas Saturday night for a Fight Night card headlined by a flyweight rematch between Manel Kape and Kyoji Horiguchi.
Kape is a -155 moneyline favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook. Horiguchi is a +130 underdog, with the total set at O/U 4.5 rounds.
Along with traditional sports betting and daily fantasy, you can now have more action than ever for UFC Fight Night: Kape vs. Horiguchi. Check out DraftKings UFC Pick6 for my favorite picks for Saturday’s UFC event.
A lot has changed since Kyoji Horiguchi (36–5, 9–1 UFC) submitted Manel Kape (22–7, 7–3 UFC) in the fourth round of their RIZIN clash back in December 2017.
Kape enters the rematch at a blistering 7–1 over his last eight bouts, with five wins coming by knockout or TKO. Wielding surreal power for a flyweight, “Starboy” needed only 17 significant strikes to finish Brandon Royval last December, falling below 73.5 significant strikes in six bouts during this torrid run.
Even if Kape doesn’t score a quick finish, he may still find trouble piling up significant strikes against Horiguchi. While much of his legacy resides in RIZIN, “Karate Kid” has won nine of 10 bouts across multiple stints in the UFC — his only loss coming to then-champion Demetrious Johnson in 2015. A prolific striker in his own right, Horiguchi also boasts an elite 63% strike defense inside the Octagon, having never sustained more than 73.5 significant strikes in a single bout.
New Zealand’s next top kickboxing prospect has arrived in the UFC, and his name is Navajo Stirling (9–0, 4–0 UFC). The undefeated Israel Adesanya protege is already off to a blistering start inside the Octagon, winning his first four bouts and recording more than 60 significant strikes in each outing.
Stirling’s line of 42.5 significant strikes appears far too modest against grizzled veteran light heavyweight Ion Cutelaba (20–11–1, 9–10–1 UFC). With a towering size advantage and sound defensive grappling, Stirling should weather his opponent’s trademarked early barrage while comfortably peppering him with significant shots from distance.
Once-undefeated featherweight Hyder Amil (11–2, 3–2 UFC) is coming off a telling loss to Jamall Emmers, during which he was taken down seven times for 8:35 control time. If anyone’s equipped to follow that blueprint, it’s Christian Rodriguez (12–4, 5–4 UFC).
Back in action for the first time in nearly a year, Rodriguez is at his best when he blankets opponents with his suffocating freestyle grappling. In April 2023, he needed only one takedown to rack up seven-and-a-half minutes of control and derail the hype train of prized prospect Raul Rosas Jr. While it may not earn him a performance bonus, Rodriguez should look to smother Amil on Saturday night.
Talk about a resume. Debuting featherweight prospect Murtazali Magomedov arrives in the UFC with a perfect 10–0 record and a 100% finish rate, split evenly between knockouts and submissions. He punched his ticket to MMA’s flagship promotion with a statement performance on Dana White’s Contender Series, scoring a first-round TKO of formerly undefeated Brahyam Zurcher in September 2025.
With fight-ending ability in all aspects of the game, “The Highlight” is well-positioned to extend his reel on Saturday. He’s facing a fellow DWCS graduate in Melsik Baghdasaryan (8–3, 2–3 UFC), who has dropped two of his last three bouts by stoppage. He’s also been shelved since suffering a TKO loss to Jean Silva in February 2025.
Sidelined for over a year, undefeated Brazilian Andre Lima (11–0, 4–0 UFC) is itching to continue his rise up the 125-pound ladder. Coming off his first pro submission victory over Daniel Barez in March 2025, he enters Saturday night with a golden opportunity to secure his first UFC knockout (sixth overall).
Lima is the heaviest favorite of the night, holding -625 odds to defeat Kevin Borjas (10–5, 1–4 UFC). The beleaguered Peruvian — who weighed in three pounds over the flyweight limit — has dropped four of five bouts since his Octagon debut in 2023, a turbulent tenure that includes a pair of TKO losses. He’s coming off a second-round stoppage in February by another powerful rising prospect in Imanol Rodriguez.
They call her “The Lady Goat” for a reason. Bia Mesquita (7–0, 2–0 UFC) is one of the most decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialists of all time, a 10-time world champion and a fourth-degree black belt. Her unmatched grappling base has provided a runway for a seamless transition to MMA, highlighted by five submission victories and back-to-back tapouts to kickstart her UFC career.
Fresh off a first-round stoppage of Montse Rendon in March, Mesquita looks primed for another statement performance on Saturday night against the struggling Melissa Mullins (7–2, 2–2 UFC). While a BJJ scholar with knockout power, Mullins has dropped two of her last three bouts and hasn’t stepped in the Octagon in nearly a year.
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