Manel Kape would love to see Brandon Moreno stand and trade with him. Returning to the Octagon on Saturday…
Manel Kape would love to see Brandon Moreno stand and trade with him.
Returning to the Octagon on Saturday night in Edmonton, ‘The Assassin Baby’ delivered a lights-out performance against Amir Albazi in the evening’s main event, securing a decisive unanimous decision and cementing his status as one of the flyweight division’s top contenders.
The win snapped a two-fight losing skid for the former flyweight champion that saw him drop back-to-back split decisions against Brandon Royval and reigning titleholder Alexandre Pantoja.
Depending on how things play out in Pantoja’s next title defense against RIZIN star Kai Asakura at UFC 310 on December 7, Moreno could be the next man in line for a shot at the gold. On the other hand, Moreno may need one more win to secure another crack at the crown.
If that turns out to be the case, Kape would love to be the one to go toe-to-toe with the ex-champ and make him dance inside the Octagon.
“I would like to see Moreno stand like that in front of me, I would make him dance the chicken dance,” Kape wrote on X. “But we have to give the credits, good performance.”
Manel Kape faces a tough test against Bruno Silva on December 14
If ‘Starboy’ wants a shot at the UFC’s first Mexican-born champion, he’ll have to pass a tough test when he meets streaking standout Bruno Silva.
Coming off four-straight finishes, including a second-round TKO against Cody Durden in July, Silva will look to break into the flyweight top 10 when he meets the eighth-ranked Kape at UFC Tampa on December 14.
Muhammad Mokaev has detailed his reasoning for burying the hatchet with Manel Kape despite their pre-fight animosity at UFC 304. Mokaev and Kape collided on the preliminary card of this past weekend’s pay-per-view event, which went down inside the Co-op Live arena in Manchester, England. Their fight was among the most anticipated in the lead-up, […]
Muhammad Mokaev has detailed his reasoning for burying the hatchet with Manel Kape despite their pre-fight animosity at UFC 304.
Mokaev and Kape collided on the preliminary card of this past weekend’s pay-per-view event, which went down inside the Co-op Live arena in Manchester, England.
Their fight was among the most anticipated in the lead-up, partially down to the bad blood that appeared to exist between the two flyweight contenders owing to a number of physical altercations.
Following an apparent bust-up at the UFC Performance Institute in March instigated by “Starboy,” Mokaev returned the favor on home turf during UFC 304 fight week, sucker-punching his opponent outside the fighter hotel.
At the end of the final round, the pair embraced in a hug, something that many might have been surprised to see given their back and forth beforehand.
Mokaev On Settling Kape Beef: ‘The Man Is Here To Feed His Family’
During a backstage interview with Caroline Pearce for TNT Sports, Mokaev reflected on his victorious performance over Kape and addressed some of the talking points that emerged from the UFC 304 matchup.
When asked about his respectful post-fight interaction with his Angola-born Portuguese rival, “The Punisher” insisted that when it comes time to do battle inside the Octagon, the hatchet must be buried.
“It was more personal. It happened in Vegas five days before my fight against Alex Perez. I had a cut. … Once he came to Manchester, once I see him, I had to welcome him to Manchester,” Mokaev said. “You know, the man is here to feed his family. He has a baby, I have a kid in the house. We’re both here to make our fridge full. I cannot kick a man down. He is already down.
“In this situation, I could have got knocked out tonight too. And I wouldn’t like it if somebody kept kicking me down and talking sh*t,” Mokaev continued. “What ever happened, it happened on the streets. Inside the Octagon, I think it should be settled. I’m young, but I’m not stupid.”
The Dagestan-born Brit’s online activity, meanwhile, has largely centered around his surprise UFC release. At the UFC 304 post-fight press conference, Dana White revealed that the promotion wouldn’t be renewing Mokaev’s contract owing to factors outside of the Octagon.
This is first time I punched outside the cage, it was more personal
He was the one who head butted 5 days before Perez fight when I went to shake his hand in Vegas! I understand, this is wrong what happen at the hotel and I apologise to the UFC, but there’s some nights I…
UFC flyweight Muhammad Mokaev appears keen to make the most of some controversial leniency from mixed martial arts referees. Mokaev was among the most talked about fighters leading into this past weekend’s UFC 304 pay-per-view event in Manchester, England — and in the aftermath. The Dagestan-born Brit appeared on the preliminary card, sharing the Octagon […]
The Dagestan-born Brit appeared on the preliminary card, sharing the Octagon with Manel Kape. While relegated from the main card, the matchup was among the most anticipated in the lead-up to the numbered event.
In addition to that being down to the low-volume and entertainment nature of the fight, the 23-year-old also raised eyebrows with one particular tactic he employed on the ground. After taking Kape down in the first round, the Brit blatantly pulled “Starboy’s” shorts.
Many have suggested Mokaev was fortunate to escape without losing a point, but the man himself seemingly has no regrets, insisting he’ll use whatever warnings he has in the chamber to stretch the rules…
Mokaev On UFC 304 Fouling: ‘I Have To Take Every Single Opportunity’
During a backstage interview in Manchester with Caroline Pearce for TNT Sports, Mokaev reflected on his victory over Kape and some of the controversy surrounding it.
The topic of how referees enforce the rules has long been a prominent one, with frequent fouls such as fence grabs going unpunished and met with a multitude of verbal warnings.
Mokaev, though, appeared to share a ‘if you’re not cheating, you’re not trying’ mantra.
“It’s a fight, yeah? You grab, do everything you can to win a fight,” Mokaev said. “There’s a reason we’ve got the warnings. I’ll do everything. I am young, I have to take every single opportunity in the Octagon. I know sometimes stuff doesn’t look (good), but I’ll do what I can.”
It remains to be seen what lies in the future of “The Punisher,” who told TNT Sports in the aftermath of his win that he was hoping to be sent a new contract ahead of a possible title shot against Alexandre Pantoja.
It now appears that he’ll have to adjust his sights to a championship elsewhere.
On Saturday night, the mixed martial arts leader returned for its latest pay-per-view event, UFC 304. For the past week, the promotion has been back in the United Kingdom. Why, then, was I still stating up until 7 AM, UFC? Dana White? Anybody? Pre-warning, I planned to do my best not to selfishly write that […]
On Saturday night, the mixed martial arts leader returned for its latest pay-per-view event, UFC 304.
For the past week, the promotion has been back in the United Kingdom. Why, then, was I still stating up until 7 AM, UFC? Dana White? Anybody? Pre-warning, I planned to do my best not to selfishly write that as a negative for my fellow Brits and I. Was I successful? No comment.
Regardless of the disappointing timings, nothing was disappointing about the lineup the UFC brought with it across the pond, topped by title defenses for welterweight kingpin Leon Edwards and interim heavyweight titleholder Tom Aspinall.
Before Belal Muhammad and Curtis Blaydes looked to bring shouts of ‘and new’ to the Octagon, Paddy Pimblett had his first opportunity at cracking the lightweight rankings against King Green, Arnold Allen attempted to snap his losing skid at the expense of Giga Chikadze, and Muhammad Mokaev and Manel Kape vied for potential number one contender status at 125 pounds.
Elsewhere, notable British names like Christian Leroy Duncan, Molly McCann, Nathaniel Wood, and Mick Parkin all looked to leave Manchester’s Co-op Live arena with victories. But did they come together to form an entertaining night of fights?
Let’s find out with all the positives and negatives from UFC 304.
I can’t remember the last time a fight at a UFC PPV event pitted two opponents against one another who quite clearly aren’t up to the standard that should be required for someone to compete on the sport’s biggest stage.
Excuse me, I should have said “couldn’t remember,” past tense. I now can remember: Shauna Bannon vs Alice Ardelean.
The Irishwoman arrived in the UFC as a promising prospect last year off the back of a win under the Invicta FC banner. But she flopped on debut, struggling to land any meaningful offense in a decision defeat to Bruna Brasil. Saturday’s opening bout gave her the opportunity to erase the memory of that result with a strong sophomore performance. In that sense, she didn’t exactly succeed.
“Mama B” was tasked with facing a late-notice replacement opponent in Ardelean. The Romanian’s signing raised eyebrows, with most acknowledging her fairly underwhelming record and skillset while suggesting a social media following was the leading cause of her UFC arrival.
The fight was ultimately a close one with about as much quality as the kind of food the fans inside the Co-op Live would have picked up from Manchester kebab shops in the early hours.
Ardelean is certainly not at the level the UFC should require. And given her struggles en route to a lackluster decision win, it’s hard to say that Bannon is.
With an 11 PM start time, the last thing the UK fans needed was a dud to start.
When these two entered the cage, it was perhaps still too early for an in-cage alarm to be required. But Parkin, in particular, sent one ringing around Manchester with a thunderous…forearm?!
Regular readers will know my feeling on the heavyweight division (and the UFC’s habit of placing the likes of Shamil Gaziev in main event spots this year). With that, it’s always a relief to see them early on a card. The home favorite on Saturday night, however, brought feelings of relief for a different reason.
Rather than the feared three-round heavyweight slog, Parkin needed less than four minutes to dispatch ?ukasz Brzeski for UFC 304’s first finish. The damage was initially done by a clean overhand right that had “The Bull” on skates. While he survived the onslaught that followed for a time, his panicky evasive manoeuvers ultimately saw his head meet the forearm of Parkin, who had thrown a left hook.
Patterson subsequently gave us the triad of fight results, following Bannon’s decision and Parkin’s knockout with a submission victory over Kiefer Crosbie. Like his compatriot’s work beforehand, “The Future” needed just one round to have his hand raised, locking his Irish opponent in an arm-triangle choke for the quick tap.
The Englishman was highly touted prior to a disappointing debut in London last year. But having now won consecutive fights via first-round submissions, Patterson is well and truly back on the radar as one of the welterweight division’s most promising up-and-comers.
Negative – Wolf Tickets
To those who bought into Muhammad Mokaev and Manel Kape’s “bitter feud” and expected them to do away with their habit of putting on dull affairs at UFC 304, I’m afraid to say you were conned.
It took just a minute into the fight to see what was happening. After a hotel “brawl,” some “hold me back” energy at the ceremonial weigh-ins, and the apparent attempt to get at each other in the cage pre-fight, Mokaev and Kape stayed at range feinting.
The rest of the fight was predictable from there. And while some have turned their nose up at the scorecards, the rounds were so lackluster and absent of effective offense that I’m not sure there could be any logical fury over whatever the judges were to come out with.
But, we did have a real reason for fury in round two: Mike Beltran.
After getting Kape to the mat for the first time in round two, Mokaev displayed some of the most egregious cheating in recent memory by yanking “Starboy’s” shorts down and giving the cageside guests a view of his backside.
To not take a point is frankly diabolical. Congratulations, Mike, you can shout loud. Would you like a certificate? Why not do something actual consequential and take a point for such a blatant foul?
Not only was no point taken, Beltran wasn’t even going to pause the fight and take the position away from Mokaev until Kape practically spelled it out to him.
Whether it’s eye pokes, fence grabs, or de-clothing your foe, rules do not exist in mixed martial arts. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, why wouldn’t you cheat when such incompetence comes out of the third men inside the Octagon?
Positive – Bruna’s Brutal Body Blows
It was always going to take something special to write a Molly McCann loss in the positive section, but Bruna Brasil gave it to us on Saturday night. In fact, she gave it to us multiple times.
So, what was special, I hear you ask? Bruna’s body shots, that’s what.
The focus pre-fight was all on McCann and how she appeared to have reinvented herself as a strawweight when she submitted Diana Belbi?? in her divisional debut this past February. Because of that, an accomplished striker in Brasil was a ridiculously big underdog given the holes we’ve seen in “Meatball’s” game.
But the Brazilian made a mockery of the betting lines in a round one that verged on a 10-8. “The Special One” delivered a relentless attack to the home fighter’s body, drawing out major reactions with a few vicious knees and kicks to the midsection.
While she found less success in rounds two and three en route to a comfortable decision, Brasil’s violent assault of McCann’s body early was enough to leave a lasting impression. And with two wins on UK soil under the UFC banner, perhaps England is her good luck charm.
Just as the early hours began to take their toll and the crowd inside the Co-op Live faded, Paddy Pimblett arrived to wake them up.
It’s been a difficult period for “The Baddy,” who has had his momentum stalled by injuries and a controversial win over Jared Gordon back in late 2022. His subsequent performance against Tony Ferguson did little to stifle his detractors given “El Cucuy’s” age and losing skid.
With that, Pimblett vowed to get the fans back on his side by running through King (still feels odd to write) Green at UFC 304 — a claim not many took seriously. While a win was never going to be a massive shock, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone predicting one-way traffic and a quick finish.
But that is exactly what we got in Manchester, with a composed Pimblett picking Green apart on the feet in the opening exchanges before punishing the American’s bizarre decision to shoot for a takedown.
After Green slipped out of a guillotine, Pimblett locked in a tight triangle choke, adding in an armbar to the equation just as the ranked contender lost consciousness, sending the home fans into a frenzy.
If Pimblett’s three UFC fights in the UK have taught us anything, it’s that he can always be counted on to create an atmosphere. And his latest triumph has certainly taught his doubters that they were wrong to dismiss his chances of earning a number next to his name on MMA’s biggest stage.
If it wasn’t already clear after he starched Sergei Pavlovich in 69 seconds last November to win the “interim” gold, it sure is now after he stopped Curtis Blaydes in just 60. Aspinall’s first clean shot sat “Razor” down, and the American wasn’t unable to show enough defense on the floor to avoid Marc Goddard’s intervention.
With the win, Aspinall not only defended his title but also made the most of his chance to right the wrong from 2022 when a freak knee injury opposite Blaydes handed him his only Octagon setback to date.
So, what’s next for Aspinall? Well, if it’s not a unification fight with Jones, both the former two-time light heavyweight kingpin and the UFC should get significant backlash from the community.
And if Jones does indeed fight Stipe Miocic in a “legacy fight” that will do nothing for his legacy before retiring, his deliberate avoidance of Aspinall will mark a sizable stain on the back end of his career.
Fight the man, Jones.
Negative – Silly
I hate to conclude things with a complaint, but seriously, what was the UFC thinking?
At my desk, I was struggling to stay awake for a hefty chunk of the UFC 304 main card. I can’t even imagine feeling like that while in attendance at the Co-op Live, and it’s no wonder the atmosphere was absent for much of it.
Of course, Paddy Pimblett’s entrance and the memorable wins for him and Tom Aspinall brought out the kind of cheers and reaction expected of a UK crowd. But just before that, Christian Leroy Duncan and Gregory Rodrigues fought out an entertaining and bloody battle amid complete silence.
Post-event, Dana White had the nerve to criticize fighters for not being motivated by the $100,000 bonuses, stating he’ll never raise them under pressure at press conferences ever again. How about never making athletes compete at 3, 4, and 5 AM again? Maybe that had something to do with it?
The likes of Edwards had to compete in the early hours because the idea of American fans watching an event at 4 PM instead of 10 PM was apparently too crazy to entertain. Do better, UFC.
What this guy said
Whose dumb idea was it to have a UFC card at 4 AM in England? Why couldn't they have just pushed this main card up to 7 PM EST United States time? No wonder the crowd is exhausted #UFC304
Muhammad Mokaev and Manel Kape had so much bad blood and fighting outside the cage going into their collision at UFC 304 that many expected a brawl when they faced off, especially with a potential title shot on the line. What we got, however, was something completely different – a fight panned by many that […]
Muhammad Mokaev and Manel Kape had so much bad blood and fighting outside the cage going into their collision at UFC 304 that many expected a brawl when they faced off, especially with a potential title shot on the line.
What we got, however, was something completely different – a fight panned by many that saw Mokaev ultimately come up with a decision win.
The first round ultimately featured a lot of feinting, with neither man scoring a clear edge. Arguably the biggest action in the fight came from a moment in the second where Mokaev grabbed Kape’s shorts in an exchange on the ground. Mokaev appeared to show disrespect to referee Mike Beltran, who yelled at Mokaev during the time-out but elected not to take a point.
Mokaev scored a takedown in the third round and had position advantage, though Kape locked in a guillotine choke attempt.
Mokaev won on all three scorecards, with two 29-28 scores and a 30-27.
Muhammad Mokaev Scores Controversial Decision Over Manel Kape In Fight That Proves Lackluster
Mokaev v Kape pre-fight brovado and shenanigan score 10. In-fight killer instinct score 2.5. These guys man…point fighting after acting all “tough” #ufc304
After engaging in an all-out brawl at the host hotel on Wednesday, flyweight contenders Manel Kape and Muhammad Mokaev…
After engaging in an all-out brawl at the host hotel on Wednesday, flyweight contenders Manel Kape and Muhammad Mokaev finally got their hands on each other inside the Octagon during the UFC 304 early prelims on Saturday night.
Even before Bruce Buffer made the announcement, Mokaev and Kape had to be separated. Once the bell rang, it was off to the races with ‘The Punisher’ getting things started via a lead leg attack. Not wanting to be the first to make a mistake, both fighters were uncharacteristically patient and offered little in the way of offense throughout the opening round.
With 15 seconds to go in the round, Kape finally decided to get his hands going and managed to clip Mokaev.
Things started to get a little crazy in round two with Kape appearing to break a toe on his lead leg. Attempting to adjust the appendage mid-fight, Mokaev rushed in and tried to capitalize with a well-placed knee. Moments later, Mokaev landed a takedown but blatantly grabbed Kape’s shorts, nearly pulling them off his body.
That prompted referee Mike Beltran to pause the action, take away Mokaev’s top position, and give ‘The Punisher’ a stern warning.
The action saw a slight uptick in the third round with Mokaev shooting in for a takedown near the three-minute mark of the round. Kape caught Mokaev in a guillotine but was unable to cinch it in, allowing ‘The Punisher’ to free his head and hold top control. Kape fishes for a kneebar which prompts Mokaev to scramble.
That allows Kape to get back to his feet, but there’s not enough time on the clock for him to mount any kind of late-round offense.
Official Result: Muhammad Mokaev def. Manel Kape via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Check out Highlights From Manel Kape vs. Muhammad Mokaev at UFC 304:
After engaging in an all-out brawl at the host hotel on Wednesday, flyweight contenders Manel Kape and Muhammad Mokaev…
Respect 
: "Please clap to Manel Kape!"
Classy from Muhammad Mokaev after his