Manel Kape has potentially had one of the strangest UFC careers of anyone in recent memory. Joining the organisation with a lot of hype back in 2020, Kape’s career hasn’t exactly gone to plan. He had an established career for Rizin and picked up the Vacant Bantamweight Championship with a big win over Kai Asakura, someone who was on a good run of form at the time.
Since joining the UFC, however, Kape’s story has been a rollercoaster. Eight cancelled fights, two weight misses and homophobic slurs were somewhat masked by good performances in the octagon.