Revenge sweetened the pot for Manel Kape.
“Starboy” captured the vacant Rizin Fighting Federation bantamweight crown when he laid waste to Kai Asakura with punches in the second round of their Rizin 20 headliner on Dec. 31, 2019 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Asakura succumbed to blows 38 seconds into Round 2, suffering his first setback in well over two years.
Kape made the necessary adjustments after he lost the first meeting between the two men by split decision some eight months earlier. The first round of their rematch was marked by fiery standup exchanges in which both parties enjoyed significant success.