“Just because we're from Africa, we aren't brothers” - Manel Kapel shares details of backstage interaction with “fake guy” Israel Adesanya
Manel Kape recently opened up about his conversation with Israel Adesanya backstage after their heated verbal exchange during the UFC 293 pre-fight press conference. Kape shared details of their chat and revealed that he even challenged the former middleweight champion to a fight.
Kape and Adesanya got into a screaming match after the Nigerian-born Kiwi tried to defend his City Kickboxing teammate Kai Kara-France from Kape's verbal attacks. 'Starboy' was initially booked against Kara-France on the UFC 293 card, but the New Zealander was forced to pull out due to injury.
Manel Kape wasn't happy about not getting a chance to fight Kara-France and put the City Kickboxing fighter on blast at the presser, even throwing a plastic water bottle at him at one point. Israel Adesanya intervened and got into a heated shouting contest with Kape.
In a recent interview with Michael Bisping, Kape revealed that he ran into Adesanya backstage after the presser and said:
"He told me, 'With all due respect, brother.' I said, 'Hey, we're not brothers. Just because we're from Africa, we are not brothers.' Secondly, I said, 'Kai Kara-France can defend himself.' Thirdly, 'You think I am acting... bro, if you wanna fight, let's fight here without cameras, without anything.' I swear to god, I'd smoke him... Izzy, he's a type of fake person."
Watch the full interview below:
Dricus du Plessis on why Israel Adesanya lost against Sean Strickland at UFC 293
Dricus du Plessis recently weighed in on the Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland middleweight title fight at UFC 293 in September. Given Adesanya's resume, most expected the Nigerian-born Kiwi to brush past 'Tarzan' with ease. However, Strickland shocked everyone by beating Adesanya from pillar to post over five rounds and winning the 185-pound championship via unanimous decision.
While du Plessis was initially meant to challenge Adesanya for the middleweight title after securing a second-round knockout over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290, the South African was forced to pull out due to injury. Strickland was later roped in as a replacement.
In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Dricus du Plessis shared his two cents on why Israel Adesanya lost to Sean Strickland. He said:
"[Adesanya] was up against the fence just getting out-pointed the whole fight. He didn't try to take the fight down once, because he doesn't have that ability. That's the problem you have with a one-dimensional fighter, who is so good in one area of the game... I think that was a good learning curve for Israel Adesanya."
Catch du Plessis' comments below (19:00):