Tag: Manel Kape

Manel Kape vs. Brandon Royval Booked for UFC Flyweight Title Eliminator on March 1

Manel Kape vs. Brandon Royval Booked for UFC Flyweight Title Eliminator on March 1Manel Kape and Brandon Royval are set for a scrap on March 1 to determine flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja’s…

Manel Kape vs. Brandon Royval Booked for UFC Flyweight Title Eliminator on March 1

Manel Kape and Brandon Royval are set for a scrap on March 1 to determine flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja’s next challenger.

Kape scored an impressive third-round knockout against Bruno Silva at the promotion’s final event of 2024. Having won five of his last six, ‘Starboy’ is on the cusp of his first shot at UFC gold. To get there, he’ll have to go through Royval per a report from AG Fight.

According to the report, Kape and Royval will square off on March 1 when the UFC heads back to The APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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After seeing his four-fight win streak snapped at the hands of the recently released Muhammad Mokaev, Kape bounced back in a big way against Silva at UFC Tampa. Through two rounds, ‘Starboy’ delivered a dominant performance accompanied by a healthy amount of trash talk and showboating before finishing Silva just under the two-minute mark of the third round.

Kape goes into the title eliminator sporting a 5-3 record inside the Octagon, 20-7 overall, and is the sixth-ranked contender in the flyweight division.

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Brandon Rovyal earn a third crack at Pantoja with a win over Manel Kape

Standing across from ‘Starboy’ this spring will be Brandon Royval, a former UFC title challenger coming off an impressive performance against Tatsuro Taira at a Fight Night event in October.

Like Kape, Royval has won five of his last six and is currently sitting on back-to-back wins over Taira and former flyweight titleholder Brandon Moreno. ‘Raw Dog’ also holds victories over Tim Elliott, Kai Kara-France, and Matheus Nicolau. Royval has already gone toe-to-toe with Pantoja on two separate occasions — once before and once after ‘The Cannibal’ claimed the 125-pound crown.

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Royval came up short on both occasions, the most recent being their flyweight title tilt at UFC 296. Pantoja earned a decisive unanimous decision victory and has since followed that up with wins against Steve Erceg and two-time RIZIN FF bantamweight champion Kai Asakura.

Royval is currently sitting as the No. 1 ranked contender in the division and holds a 7-3 record in the UFC, 17-7 overall.

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UFC Rankings Report: Colby Covington On The Brink Of Top 10 Exit After Tampa Defeat

As always, the latest action on offer inside the Octagon has seen some climb the ladder toward contention and others fall away. And in the aftermath of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night in Tampa, MMA News has you covered with this week’s updates to the official UFC rankings. Men’s Pound-For-Pound: No changes. Women’s Pound-for-Pound: No changes. Women’s Strawweight: No changes. Women’s […]

As always, the latest action on offer inside the Octagon has seen some climb the ladder toward contention and others fall away.

And in the aftermath of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night in Tampa, MMA News has you covered with this week’s updates to the official UFC rankings.

Men’s Pound-For-Pound: No changes.

Women’s Pound-for-Pound: No changes.

Women’s Strawweight: No changes.

Women’s Flyweight: Miranda Maverick didn’t perform as she had hoped on Saturday night, but she still got the job done over Jamey-Lyn Horth and has returned to the UFC rankings as a result. She’s now at #15, with her entry pushing out Casey O’Neill entirely.

Women’s Bantamweight: No changes.

Flyweight: Manel Kape was among the biggest winners to emerge from 2024’s final event, as he put on a show en route to stopping Bruno Silva with strikes in round three. “Starboy” has subsequently climbed three places to #6. The defeated Brazilian, meanwhile, has dropped one spot behind Charles Johnson (#12) to #13.

Bantamweight: No changes.

Featherweight: No changes.

Lightweight: No changes.

Welterweight: The final UFC winner of this year was Joaquin Buckley, who dominated former interim champion Colby Covington to stake his claim for a title eliminator next time out. The victory has seen “New Mansa” surge three places up the ladder to #6. “Chaos” has gone the same distance the other way, leaving him at #9 and on the brink of exiting the division’s top 10.

Middleweight: No changes.

Light Heavyweight: No changes.

Heavyweight: No changes.

You can view the full updated UFC rankings here.

VIDEO: Israel Adesanya Reacts To Inclusion In Manel Kape’s UFC Tampa Octagon Interview

One of the stand out performances from the final UFC event of 2024 came courtesy of Manel “Starboy” Kape. The flyweight contender returned to the win column with one of his best performances inside the Octagon to date against Bruno Silva. Kape looked incredibly fast and accurate in Tampa and though he can still be […]

One of the stand out performances from the final UFC event of 2024 came courtesy of Manel “Starboy” Kape. The flyweight contender returned to the win column with one of his best performances inside the Octagon to date against Bruno Silva.

Kape looked incredibly fast and accurate in Tampa and though he can still be a divisive character, displays like this make it easy to remember why some fans were so excited for him to arrive in the UFC. It doesn’t seem like this win will be enough for him to get his first shot at the title but he won’t be far off following this victory.

Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was enjoying some food whilst watching the Portuguese stand out go to work during his YouTube reactions to the fights.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, he heard his own name after Kape used his time on the mic to reignite an old feud. At UFC 293, Kape and Adesanya got into a heated exchange at the press conference due to the flyweight’s comments about one of Adesanya’s close teammates, Kai Kara-France.

After getting his hand raised, Kape spent part of his post-fight interview calling out the likes of Kara-France, Adesanya and Brandon Moreno. Having just given “Starboy” lots of credit for his performance, “The Last Stylebender” was caught off guard but he did find the whole thing amusing rather than taking it to heart.

“Why’d he say f*** me for? Man, I give this guy this credit like he’s looking nice and then he said ‘F*** you’. Hey, I still keep it real man, he f****** showed out. Hey man, this shows I been in his head this whole time, I didn’t even think it was like that but he did well, good job… little b**** a** n****.”

Manel Kape Has Title Shot Pleas Rejected After Standout UFC Tampa Performance

UFC flyweight contender Manel Kape didn’t shy away from letting the brass know what he wants at Saturday’s event in Tampa. After having his title plans stalled by Muhammad Mokaev in Manchester this past July, Kape returned to action at the UFC’s final event of 2024, where he was tasked with defending his position on […]

UFC flyweight contender Manel Kape didn’t shy away from letting the brass know what he wants at Saturday’s event in Tampa.

After having his title plans stalled by Muhammad Mokaev in Manchester this past July, Kape returned to action at the UFC’s final event of 2024, where he was tasked with defending his position on the ladder against Bruno Silva.

“Starboy” bounced back in style, putting on a show with the kind of striking and confident showboating that attracted the MMA leader’s attention while he held gold under the Rizin banner.

And following two strong rounds, Kape closed the show with strikes in the final frame to cap off a near-flawless return to the win column.

In the aftermath, the Angola-born Portuguese fighter pleaded with Dana White cageside, making his case for the next shot at Alexandre Pantoja. That was a continuation of a conversation Kape also attempted to start in-between rounds.

Unfortunately for “Starboy,” he seemingly wasn’t persuasive enough.

During the post-fight press conference backstage at Amalie Arena, UFC CEO Dana White reflected on Kape’s perseverance when it came to pitching a rematch with champ Pantoja, whom he lost to in his promotional debut back in 2021.

White did not, however, have the answer the flyweight contender would have been hoping for.

“No, he’s not getting a title shot,” White said. “But we’ll definitely give him what he’s looking for.”

It’s unclear what White is referring to, given that Kape was looking for a shot at redemption opposite Pantoja with the flyweight gold on the line next year.

Regardless, it seems “Starboy” has some work to do if he’s to secure a first championship opportunity on MMA’s biggest stage and the chance to add UFC gold to his trophy cabinet in the sport.

‘Where Was This When He Fought Mokaev?’ – Fans React As Manel Kape Puts On A Show In UFC Tampa Return

Manel Kape looked to make a statement as to why he should be next in line for Alexandre Pantoja and the UFC flyweight championship. And perhaps he’s made a case after his finish of Bruno Silva at UFC Tampa. Kape’s path to victory in the fight didn’t come without battle scars. Silva landed three low […]

Manel Kape looked to make a statement as to why he should be next in line for Alexandre Pantoja and the UFC flyweight championship. And perhaps he’s made a case after his finish of Bruno Silva at UFC Tampa.

Kape’s path to victory in the fight didn’t come without battle scars. Silva landed three low blows on “Starboy” before the halfway point of the fight, resulting in the Brazilian being deducted one point.

Ultimately, that didn’t make a difference for Silva. Kape’s offense was on full display over the course of the second round, and though Silva landed some power during the third frame, the top 10 contender landed a kick that started a flurry and quickly put “Bulldog” away.

Silva argued (ironically) that the initial kick was a low blow, but it wasn’t enough to overturn referee Keith Petersen’s original no call.

Kape has now won five of his last six fights and rebounds from his lackluster fight with Muhammad Mokaev at UFC 304 this past July.

Meanwhile, this loss snaps a four-fight win streak that Silva rode into UFC Tampa on.

Manel Kape: Referee Mike Beltran Should Have Been Fired For ‘B*tch Move’ In Muhammad Mokaev Fight

UFC flyweight contender Manel Kape is set to return this weekend in Tampa where he closes out his 2024 campaign by facing off with the dangerous Bruno Silva at the Amelie Arena. This contest will be his first fight back since his controversial clash with Muhammad Mokaev at UFC 304 in Manchester this past July. […]

UFC flyweight contender Manel Kape is set to return this weekend in Tampa where he closes out his 2024 campaign by facing off with the dangerous Bruno Silva at the Amelie Arena. This contest will be his first fight back since his controversial clash with Muhammad Mokaev at UFC 304 in Manchester this past July.

There was a lot of tension between the two men throughout fight week that spilled over once they got inside the Octagon. However, once the fight itself had actually started, it wasn’t the most exciting contest. Mokaev’s win should’ve seen the undefeated contender solidify his status as the next in line for a flyweight title shot but instead, the UFC chose to not re-sign him after he had no fights left on his deal.

Considering all of the drama between them in the lead up to their fight, it’s not surprising that Kape isn’t upset about his former opponent departing the promotion. During his media day interviews, “Starboy” labelled “The Punisher” as “dirty”, accusing him of committing multiple fouls in their fight that changed the outcome.

Kape also places some of the blame for that fight on the third man inside the Octagon, referee Mike Beltran. He believes that he was having to do Beltran’s job for him after the official failed to spot and penalize Mokaev’s infringements and for that, he thinks Beltran should have also been forced to leave.

“What is even worse is the referee. I don’t think he was a man; it was a b*tch move,” Kape said. “He was looking at him when he grabbed my shorts, and when I dropped my hands to lose the position, Mokaev still grabbed my shorts out of fear because it was one of my favorite submissions, the kneebar. I felt the victory in the moment. If I had gotten the victory, no one would have called the fight boring because I would have finished him.

“The referee should have taken a point; he didn’t do his job. Mokaev got fired, and one of the other people that should have been fired was the referee, as he didn’t do his job…the referee was the main issue. Listen,” Kape continued. “There was also an issue when I punched Mokaev, and he put a finger in my eye, so I gave my back because it was bad, and the referee didn’t do anything…I felt in that fight that I was a fighter and referee because it was me who stopped the fight multiple times…there were multiple fouls, and I think the UFC should fire him as well. So, it was just Mokaev.”

Watch Kape’s full media day interview via MMA Fighting below: