Tag: city kickboxing

Manel Kape drops homophobic slur in vulgar UFC 293 post-Fight tirade at City Kickboxing fighters

Manel KapeFlyweight standout Manel Kape didn’t let Charlie Radtke have all the fun on Saturday night. ‘Starboy’ stepped into the Octagon as part of the promotion’s stacked UFC 293 main card inside the Qudos Bank Arena with late-notice replacement opponent Felipe dos Santos. Despite having two weight cuts in a relatively short period of time, dos […]

Manel Kape

Flyweight standout Manel Kape didn’t let Charlie Radtke have all the fun on Saturday night.

‘Starboy’ stepped into the Octagon as part of the promotion’s stacked UFC 293 main card inside the Qudos Bank Arena with late-notice replacement opponent Felipe dos Santos. Despite having two weight cuts in a relatively short period of time, dos Santos brought the fight to Kape throughout their three-round affair. Both fighters delivered a highly entertaining fight for the fans in Australia that ultimately saw Manel Kape score a unanimous decision win that extended his win streak to four.

Unfortunately, the 15-minute slugfest was quickly forgotten as Kape took to the mic and delivered an explicit-filled post-fight interview that largely targeted his original opponent for the event, Kai Kara-France.

“I was supposed to fight Kai Kara. You motherf*cker, you’re here. You show up, you piece of sh*t,” Manel Kape said, directing his comments toward Kara-France who was in the crowd. “You are a piece of sh*t. That’s what you are. Hey, listen guys. Listen. I’m gonna fight you next and if you refuse again to fight me, I’m going to your city. I’m going to your camp. I’m gonna spar you there and no one’s gonna do anything. You know why? All your teammates are a bunch of f****ts.

Manel Kape Wasn’t the Only Fighter to Drop the Other F-Bomb at UFC 293

It was the second such interview of the night where a fighter dropped the homophobic slur following an otherwise noteworthy victory. The first came when UFC newcomer Charlie Radtke called fans in attendance the same disgusting word as they booed his performance against Mike Mathetha, aka Blood Diamond, during the early prelims.

As he did with Radtke, Daniel Cormier quickly pulled the microphone away from Kape and wrapped up the interview.

With two separate incidents of homosexual vilification on the same night, one has to wonder what the UFC will do if anything to curb the unnecessary and downright vile insults that plagued an otherwise entertaining event in The Land Down Under.

Dan Hooker Recalls “Superfan” Turning Up To CKB House With Pizza

UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker has recalled an interesting interaction the City Kickboxing team had prior to this past weekend’s pay-per-view. On Saturday night, Hooker returned to 155 pounds at UFC 281, opening the main card against rising…

UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker has recalled an interesting interaction the City Kickboxing team had prior to this past weekend’s pay-per-view. On Saturday night, Hooker returned to 155 pounds at UFC 281, opening the main card against rising prospect Claudio Puelles. “The Hangman” was one of four CKB fighters who made the trip from New…

Continue Reading Dan Hooker Recalls “Superfan” Turning Up To CKB House With Pizza at MMA News.

Dan Hooker Prefers Early Stoppages Than Late For Teammates

UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker has given his assessment of the stoppage in the UFC 281 main event between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira. At this past weekend’s pay-per-view event, fans witnessed a dramatic title change inside the prestig…

UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker has given his assessment of the stoppage in the UFC 281 main event between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira. At this past weekend’s pay-per-view event, fans witnessed a dramatic title change inside the prestigious surroundings of New York City’s Madison Square Garden. The victim of the championship switch was Adesanya,…

Continue Reading Dan Hooker Prefers Early Stoppages Than Late For Teammates at MMA News.

Fighters React To Carlos Ulberg’s Brutal KO Win At UFC 281

City Kickboxing started UFC 281 off with a bang, as Carlos Ulberg made short work of Nicolae Negumereanu to start the night. Ulberg, a teammate of middleweight champion and UFC 281 headliner Israel Adesanya and perhaps the best-looking fighter on the r…

City Kickboxing started UFC 281 off with a bang, as Carlos Ulberg made short work of Nicolae Negumereanu to start the night. Ulberg, a teammate of middleweight champion and UFC 281 headliner Israel Adesanya and perhaps the best-looking fighter on the roster, has been on something of a run since dropping his UFC debut in…

Continue Reading Fighters React To Carlos Ulberg’s Brutal KO Win At UFC 281 at MMA News.

Volkanovski On Future Hooker Fight: If We Need To Do It, We’ll Do It

UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski has discussed City Kickboxing teammate Dan Hooker’s return to featherweight and the prospect of facing him down the line. Volkanovski has ruled over the 145-pound weight class since dethroning Max Holloway in late 2019. In defending his title twice, first in a rematch with “Blessed” and then in a grudge…

Continue Reading Volkanovski On Future Hooker Fight: If We Need To Do It, We’ll Do It at MMA News.

UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski has discussed City Kickboxing teammate Dan Hooker’s return to featherweight and the prospect of facing him down the line.

Volkanovski has ruled over the 145-pound weight class since dethroning Max Holloway in late 2019. In defending his title twice, first in a rematch with “Blessed” and then in a grudge match with Brian Ortega, the Australian has extended his win streak in professional MMA to 20 and his unblemished UFC record to 10-0.

While there remain a number of challenges for “The Great” to see off, including upcoming opponent “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung, Volkanovski will soon see a new name enter the shark tank at featherweight.

After a struggle for form at lightweight, Hooker, who, like Volkanovski, fights under the City Kickboxing banner, will be returning to 145 pounds this weekend. Soon after his transition down a class became public knowledge, “The Hangman” gave his thoughts on a potential meeting with teammate Volkanovski, suggesting they’d cross that bridge when they get to it.

Now, in an exclusive interview with MMA News, the champion has shared a similar sentiment to Hooker’s.

He claimed that if necessary, the pair would throw down inside the cage, an admission that’s rare in this day and age, with the likes of Gilbert Burns and Vicente Luque, and Kamaru Usman and Israel Adesanya shutting the door on the possibility of facing each other due to personal relationships.

“It doesn’t really cross your mind until people ask you about it, really. At the same time, this is a sport,” Volkanovski told MMA News’ James Lynch. “You can’t expect these guys not to be in your division. Now he’s chose that division and he thinks that’s the best decision for his career, and I support that.

“Whatever happens, if further down the track we need to do it, then we’ll do it, you know. That’s just how it is. That’s fine. That’s all good. I wish nothing but the best for him and I’m sure he wishes nothing but the best for me. So, if our paths do cross, we’ll worry about that then,” concluded Volkanovski.

Hooker’s First Step To Contention Takes Place This Weekend

After a test weight cut appeared to confirm his departure from the lightweight division late last year, the announcement of a featherweight opponent hammered home Hooker’s return to 145 pounds.

Despite his hopes to fight “The Korean Zombie” or Brian Ortega, the New Zealander has had to settle for a lesser name, but certainly not a decline in competition. In the co-main event at UFC London this weekend, Hooker will enter the cage with rising contender Arnold Allen.

“Almighty” Allen is unbeaten at 8-0 in the UFC and has risen to #7 in the rankings following triumphs over Nik Lentz and Sodiq Yusuff in recent years. While he’ll look to further his stock with the addition of an established name to his résumé, Hooker will be targeting an immediate arrival into the title conversation.

Would you like to see Alexander Volkanovski and Dan Hooker share the Octagon down the line?

Continue Reading Volkanovski On Future Hooker Fight: If We Need To Do It, We’ll Do It at MMA News.

City Kickboxing Halt Planned US Move, Will Remain In New Zealand

City KickboxingCity Kickboxing head coach Eugene Bareman is delighted that New Zealand’s change in COVID-19 regulations will allow his fighters to stay in their home country, rather than relocate to the United States in order to train for fights. In the aftermath of UFC 266, one of Bareman’s star pupils, Dan Hooker, revealed that the plan […]

City Kickboxing

City Kickboxing head coach Eugene Bareman is delighted that New Zealand’s change in COVID-19 regulations will allow his fighters to stay in their home country, rather than relocate to the United States in order to train for fights.

In the aftermath of UFC 266, one of Bareman’s star pupils, Dan Hooker, revealed that the plan is for City Kickboxing to relocate to the U.S. as it had become extremely difficult to book and train for fights in New Zealand.

“Definitely, We had the discussion as a team now. There’s a lot of people that have been talking about it or thinking about it, myself of making a move stateside. But now we’ve had the discussion as a team. We’re kind of just planning the logistics of it. Obviously it’s going to be left up to our coaches, but yeah, it looks like me and the family will be moving stateside with the team. It has to happen. This last one was getting a little bit crazy.”

City Kickboxing Is Staying Put In New Zealand

During a recent interview with Combat TV, Bareman revealed that he and his team have shelved plans to move overseas after the New Zealand government eased COVID-19 regulations.

“We are now going to be able to get home faster than we ever have been in the last 2 years, which is almost immediately and then we are going to have to do quarantine half as long as what we have been doing,” Bareman said. “And we get to do it at home! Which really makes all the difference… so there’s no real reason to go overseas [to hold training camps]… so for now, I’m a very happy man.”

The City Kickboxing head honcho is glad that Hooker and all of his other fighters are no longer in a state of limbo and can remain at home.

“Well, Dan was in limbo. Dan was in limbo because whole team was in limbo,” Bareman said. “Now we have dates that we can get home, and we can go in and out of the country freely, so there’s no need to be overseas… everybody who was training overseas is now coming home…[previously] we would have done what we needed to do [move to overseas], but it would have been regrettable.” (Transcribed by Sportskeeda)

Do you think City Kickboxing will ever relocate?