Kape backstage at the UFC. Photo: Reproduction/X/UFC
In December, in Las Vegas (USA), Manel kape He achieved a remarkable victory, which propelled him into the top 3 of the UFC flyweight division (up to 57 kg). The Angolan shone in the octagon and knocked out his opponent. Brandon royval In the first round. Riding a three-fight winning streak, all by knockout, 'Starboy' campaigned intensely for a title shot in the division, but his efforts were in vain.
And the information was revealed by the veteran himself, upon learning of a rumor suggesting he would face the champion. Joshua Van In the co-main event of UFC 326 on March 7th, Kape candidly revealed that the company vetoed him because they had already chosen the number one contender.
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According to the veteran, the Burmese player's opponent will also not be... Alexandre pantoja, nor Kyoji Horiguchi and sim Tatsuro TairaIt's true that the UFC hasn't announced who Van will fight for his flyweight title for the first time. However, after the Brazilian lost due to an arm injury, Dana White stated he favored a fight between the new champion and the rising star in Japan.
"Fake news. I'm not going to fight against my 'son'." Joshua Van"My team and I have been pushing for this fight since my last one. However, according to the UFC, they had already promised Taira the title fight after he defeated Royval. Even knowing this, we continued to push for this fight to happen on March 7th," the athlete wrote on his official 'X' account.
“The UFC told us there was a great possibility and I was already cutting weight on Monday. I dropped to 65 kg, but in the end, the UFC decided not to go ahead with the fight due to lack of time. We moved on. Patient as always. And believe me, patience is something I've mastered. Champion soon, Insha'Allah,” he concluded.
Kape Fighters in MMA
Manel kape, 32 years old, is one of the best flyweight fighters in history and is currently ranked second in the UFC. Before achieving prominence in the company, the Angolan was the Rizin bantamweight champion.
'Starboy' began his MMA career in 2012 and built a record of 22 wins, 19 by stoppage (14 by knockout and five by submission), and seven losses. His main victories were against... Asu Almabayev, Brandon royvalIan McCall Kai Asakura
Fake news. I am not fighting my “son” Joshua Van.
My team and I have been pushing for this fight since my last one. However, according to the UFC, they had already promised the title shot to Tatsuro Taira after he defeated Brandon royval.
Even knowing that, we kept pushing to… https://t.co/Xrl9pwHcoB
— Manel kape (@ManelKape) February 15, 2026
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