Manel Kape can’t help but antagonize his opponents before they step into the ring or cage.
The former RIZIN Bantamweight champion has been known for his hot temper and outspoken nature. The Angolan infamously got into a brief scuffle with former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) veteran, Ian McCall, at the weigh-ins for their bout at RIZIN’s 2017 World Grand Prix Second Round. History has now repeated itself, to an extent.
Kape will take on fellow top-ranked UFC Flyweight contender, Muhammad Mokaev, at UFC 304 in Manchester, England this weekend (Sat., July 27, 2024). However, the pair of combatants couldn’t wait until Saturday, as they got into a scuffle in a video shared by Mokaev on his Instagram. The video can be seen in the embedded player above.
A title shot is expected to be awaiting the winner of the fight. A win for either would put them in a prime position, extending either Mokaev’s unbeaten streak to 14 (12-0, 1 no contest, 6-0 in UFC) or Kape’s winning stretch to five straight (19-6, 4-2 in UFC).
The former 135-pound champion expects this to be his 23-year-old foe’s toughest test to date.
“I’m going to try to make this quick because I have to put Mokaev in his place,” Kape said at UFC 304 media day (h/t MMA Junkie). “In my opinion, this is too early for him, but we will see. It’s too early. There is levels to this game. He never faced a championship-caliber [fighter] and I see a lot of mistakes in his game — that’s why I say it’s too early for him.”
Remember that 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 online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. ET), before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).
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