What did Manel Kape say? Apology, Dana White's comment, and complete aftermath of homophobic slur
UFC flyweight contender Manel Kape is known for his fighting as well as microphone skills. Kape's trash talk has, at times, gotten him into a fair bit of trouble. A prominent example of 'Starboy's' words backfiring at him came at the UFC 293 event (Sept. 10, 2023), which transpired in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
The Angola-born Portuguese fighter was initially booked to face New Zealand's Kai Kara-France at UFC 293. Nevertheless, a concussion ruled Kara-France out of that matchup in late August, and Felipe dos Santos replaced him on short notice. Kape ended up defeating dos Santos via unanimous decision at UFC 293.
What did Manel Kape say?
During his post-fight octagon interview with Daniel Cormier, Kape took aim at Kara-France who was in attendance at the venue. Using a homophobic slur to lambast the New Zealander and the latter's 'City Kickboxing' gym teammates, Kape stated:
"No one gonna do anything. You know why? All your teammates is a bunch of fa**ots."
Check out Kape's comments below:
Incidentally, earlier that night, Charles Radtke had beaten Mike Mathetha in their welterweight bout on the UFC 293 early prelims. During his post-fight octagon interview, Radtke used the term "fa**ots" to deride some of the fans in attendance. Radtke later put forth an apology and attributed his usage of the slur to being emotionally charged inside the octagon.
Meanwhile, speculation abounded that Manel Kape and Charles Radtke could face legal repercussions for their remarks, as New South Wales had a law against homophobic vilification.
Moreover, during the UFC 293 post-fight press conference, UFC CEO Dana White suggested that what counts is how one makes amends and evolves after making mistakes. He highlighted that Radtke apologized of his own free will and wasn't coerced to do so by the UFC. White stated:
"I think these guys get a little excited and you know, you make bad mistakes... We make mistakes. I am not holier than thou either."
Check out White's comments below:
During the UFC 293 pre-fight press conference, Manel Kape had gotten into a verbal altercation with Kai Kara-France who was in the audience. Kara-France's teammate, then-UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, who was also present onstage, stood up and admonished Kape.
The flyweight stood his ground. Security personnel intervened and separated Adesanya and Kape. Well, Kape ended up winning his fight at UFC 293, whereas Adesanya lost his UFC middleweight title via unanimous decision to Sean Strickland in the event's headlining match.
During the UFC 293 post-fight press conference, Kape sounded off on Adesanya and opined that he should've been more focused on Strickland rather than feuding with him.
Kape also accused Adesanya, Kara-France, and their team of "hypocrisy." He implied that 'The Last Stylebender' criticized Dricus du Plessis for not facing him (Adesanya) at UFC 293 due to an injury but supported his teammate Kara-France pulling out of his fight against Kape due to an injury (concussion).
In addition, 'Starboy' apologized for the homophobic slur he used against Kara-France and his teammates during his post-fight octagon interview. Kape said:
"Yeah. I'm sorry for that. It's emotional, you know. During the fight, during the interview, we are all emotions. We say things that we don't want to say. But for who feel bad about that, I apologize."
Check out Manel Kape's comments below (1:19):
Furthermore, Manel Kape has lately been involved in a heated rivalry against Dagestan-born British fighter Muhammad Mokaev, whom he'll fight at UFC 304 (July 27, 2024). Kape's and Mokaev's teams reportedly got into a violent altercation, which both fighters subsequently addressed on social media.