"He has a knockout win over Kai Asakura" - UFC champ hits back at fan after being called out for 'Ali repped fighter' bias on Manel Kape
Reigning welterweight champion praised Manel Kape's performance and got into a back-and-forth with a fan regarding Kape’s performance. He argued that Kape should be next in line for a flyweight title shot against reigning 125-pound champion Alexandre Pantoja.
Kape, coming off a loss to Muhammad Mokaev at UFC 304, delivered an impressive performance against Bruno Silva, finishing him in the third round via KO/TKO with punches at UFC Tampa on Dec. 14.
Following Kape’s spectacular victory, Belal Muhammad took to X to praise ‘Starboy.’ He wrote:
“That was a title shot-worthy performance.”
One fan responded to the tweet, accusing ‘Remember the Name’ of being biased since both Muhammad and Kape are managed by MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz. Defending himself, Muhammad shared another tweet, referencing Kape's knockout victory over Kai Asakura, who recently lost to Pantoja. Muhammad wrote:
“He has a knockout win over Kai Asakura who just fought Pantoja you dork and he looked incredible today.”
Check out Belal Muhammad's X post below:
Manel Kape vows to visit Dana White’s house if he doesn’t get a title shot against Alexandre Pantoja
Following his win over Bruno Silva, Manel Kape passionately demanded a title shot from Dana White, who was seated cageside. The 31-year-old fighter asserted that he had never asked White for anything before. As neighbors living in Sin City, he was now requesting a championship fight against Alexandre Pantoja.
At the UFC Tampa post-event press conference, Kape firmly declared that he only wants a title fight next and refused to fight anyone else, including Kai Kara-France. He said:
"I know they want to put me with somebody else to fight with before Pantoja, but it can't be. I'm tired of this bulls**t of Kai Kara-France. We've been booked two times, he didn't show up... I'm not going to wait for anybody... It's my time to get the title shot."
Later, when a reporter asked if he had spoken with Dana White backstage, Manel Kape responded and vowed that if he didn’t get the championship fight, he would go to White’s house demanding it:
"Me and Dana, we are neighbors. We live 10 minutes away from each other. If we don't have that conversation, I'm going to his house. I'm going to knock on his door because we live in Summerlink in Vegas."
Check out Manel Kape’s comments below (2:30):