Muhammad Mokaev and Manel Kape have become the worst of enemies and saw their rivalry turn into a water bottle fight at UFC 304’s ceremonial weigh ins on Friday (replay HERE). The two will meet at UFC 304 later tonight (Sat., July 27, 2024) live on ESPN+ PPV from inside Co-op Live in Manchester, England.
In case you don’t know, Mokaev and Kape absolutely hate each other. The two flyweights first forged bad blood earlier this year when they reportedly threw down at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas. As if that out-of-cage scuffle wasn’t enough, Mokaev and Kape brawled at the fighter hotel earlier this week ahead of their clash at UFC 304.
Maybe all of the unneeded drama is why their high-profile flyweight matchup was bumped from UFC 304’s PPV main card all the way down to the early “Prelims.”
On Friday, the two nearly got into another brawl on stage during their final staredown. Luckily, security was there to quickly intervene and stop Mokaev from practically running over to Kape to start a fight. Check it out below:
YOU’RE GOING TO WANT TO TUNE INTO THE EARLY PRELIMS TO SEE THESE TWO @MuhammadMokaev vs @ManelKape
[ LIVE on @ESPNPlus & @UFCFightPass | #UFC304 ] pic.twitter.com/74QRwNtkkW
— UFC (@ufc) July 26, 2024
After the two flyweights were separated and brought off stage, the promotion inexplicably had them cross paths again behind the curtains. That’s when Mokaev absolutely lost it and tried to attack Kape. He ended up chucking a water bottle as more security held him back. Someone can be heard screaming, “I’m going to kill you motherf—ker.”
See the backstage altercation below and let us know who wins Saturday’s grudge match!
Water bottles were thrown backstage between @muhammadmokaev and Manel Kape #UFC304 | Saturday | LIVE on TNT Sports & discovery+ pic.twitter.com/MOhw05YTaA
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) July 26, 2024
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 304 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN2/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 304: “Edwards vs. Muhammad 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 304 fight card and PPV lineup click here.