UFC Vegas 119 broadcast 12 fights from the UFC’s Meta APEX center in Las Vegas on Saturday. Of the 12 bouts, seven ended in finishes. All five main card bouts ended with finishes in a rare occurrence. In the main event, a high-level flyweight showdown, the long-awaited rematch between RIZIN veterans, Manel Kape and Kyoji Horiguchi. And in the co-main event, an undefeated 205lb stud, Navajo Stirling, faced a ten-year promotional veteran in Ion Cutelaba. Some interesting matchups in this one, and a featherweight-heavy edition of our matchmaker piece (three of five fights).
Kyoji Horiguchi
Manel Kape completed the come from behind victory on Saturday to finish Kyoji Horiguchi in the pair’s rematch, nearly 10 years in the making. The loss was just the second of Horiguchi’s 11-fight UFC career. The first stint of which, came from 2013-2016. Horiguchi was re-signed to the promotion in late 2025 and has gone 2-1 since. His two victories were against Tagir Ulanbekov and Amir Albazi.
Horiguchi’s next fight should be against the loser of Brandon Royval vs. Lone’er Kavanagh. That bout goes down on July 11 so the timing would be great. Royval is 7-5 with the UFC and on a 2-fight losing streak. He’s lost to Joshua Van (in a fight of the night winner) and was finished by Manel Kape in his last fight back in late 2025.
Lone’er is a 2024 Contender Series product that is just 3-1 with the promotion so far. In his second to last fight, he suffered the first defeat of his pro MMA career in the form of a late second round finish at the hands of one Charles Johnson. Lon’er got back on the right track with a surprising upset victory over former UFC flyweight champ, Brandon Moreno, in his last fight.
Giving Horiguchi the winner of this bout makes sense in timing, rankings, and fight style. Either matchup presents an interesting and entertaining matchup for fans. Co-main or featured high on the main card of a Fight Night card.
Horiguchi’s next fight: (#4) Brandon Royval vs. (#6) Lone’er Kavanagh loser
Ion Cutelaba
Navajo Stirling passed the test on Saturday in the form of 21-fight UFC veteran Ion Cutelaba. Stirling showed he was more than competent in mixing the martial arts and melting his opponent to get the finish. Cutelaba falls to 9-11-1 in his 10-years with the promotional giant. Ion is 3-3 in his last six fights. He’s lost to Philipe Lins, Modestas Bukaukas and now, Stirling. Cutelaba has defeated Ivan Erslan and stopped Ibo Aslan and Oumar Sy in the first rounds.
With that in mind, Ion’s next fight should be against the winner of Levi Rodrigues Jr. vs. Felipe Franco. That fight is scheduled for July 18 so the timing would be fine. Felipe is a 2025 Contender Series alum that received the call up after stringing together a couple more wins on the regional scene. Felipe is 0-1 with the promotion as he lost his debut to an undefeated Mario Pinto back in March.
Levi will be making his UFC debut in his bout against Franco. The 2025 Contender Series alum had his first-round finish overturned to a no contest after he tested positive for nandrolone metabolites. Levi is only 5-0 as a pro so his debut will be a large litmus test. Winner of this bout should draw a veteran like Ion who is known but outside of the rankings. Light heavyweight is super shallow, so with a good performance these guys could climb pretty quickly.
Cutelaba’s next fight: Felipe Franco vs. Lucas Rodrigues Jr. winner
Hyder Amil
Christian Rodriguez turned a highlight reel combination into a fight stopping guillotine choke late in the first round to get the victory over Hyder Amil on Saturday. Hyder is now riding a 3-fight losing streak and is 3-3 with the UFC. Hyder was 11-0 prior to the skid. Amil was stopped in less than 30 seconds by Jose Delgado, lost a unanimous decision to Jamall Emmers and now, Rodriguez took less than a round to stop him.
Hyder’s next fight should be against the veteran Andre Fili. Andre fought to open the main card of UFC 119 and lost to Vincius Oliveira, who was making his featherweight debut. Amil was once a very hot prospect with the promotion and Fili is a guy incapable of participating in a boring/noncompetitive scrap. This should be an easier one for match makers to book, though fans shouldn’t pretend that there aren’t plenty of other options within the division.
Amil’s next fight: Andre Fili
Melsik Baghdasaryan
Murtazali Magomedov stayed perfect as a pro and completed a nearly flawless UFC debut with his 87 second modified twister finish over Melsik Bagdasaryan on the main card of UFC Vegas 119 on Saturday. It’s been a rough three-year stretch for Melsik who has gone 1-3 in the time period. Not to mention, Melski has had four cancelled fights during that time period. The 2020 Contender Series alum had high hopes and started off hot at 2-0 with a performance, bonus to his name.
Melsik’s next fight should be against another 2020 Contender Series veteran. Baghdasaryan should take on Jordan Leavitt. Jordan last fought on June 6 when he lost late in the first round when Joanderson Brito submitted him. Brito is a fighter that Melsik has been booked against twice- in late 2022 and late 2025. Brito is now 7-3 in the UFC, so that doesn’t make too much sense. But Leavitt is 6-4, so that makes way for sense as a matchup for Melsik. Jordan is also 3-3 in his last six fights since mid 2022. His losses during that time period are respectable finish losses to Paddy Pimblett, Chase Hooper, and now Brito. With wins over, Victor Martinez and Kurt Holobaugh-both first round stoppages. Jordan’s most recent win came against Yadier del Valle back in February. Great scrap to make, even though Melsik seems to be a little weak on the ground.
Baghdasaryan’s next fight: Jordan Leavitt
Andre Fili
Vinicius Oliveira took a massive amount of damage in a two round war that saw him finally crumpling the veteran Andre Fili, to notch a victory. This main card opener was so good, it ended up securing fight of the night honors. Fili now falls to 13-13, 1 NC with the UFC. Andre has lost four of his last six fights. Within that stretch he’s lost to Dan Ige, Melquizael Costa, Jose Delgado and now Oliveira. His two wins are split decisions over Cub Swanson and Christian Rodriguez.
Very familiar and common opponent names here to another fighter on this edition of losers, Hyder Amil. That’s the low hanging fruit here, and the right matchup to make for a soon-to-be 36-year-old Fili. Who is still very game.
Fili’s next fight: Hyder Amil
