Manel Kape has three months until he challenges for the UFC flyweight title, and he’s already decided the champion is a knockoff of himself. Talking with Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie, Kape said Joshua Van shows up with plenty of swagger and “still a lot of holes,” then warned that whatever confidence Van draws from the belt will turn out to be delusional once he’s standing across from Kape.
Then came the line Van will hear about at every media scrum between now and fight week. “Honestly, I see him like my fan,” Kape said. “He tries to be a version of Manel.”
The two meet in the UFC 336 main event on Jan. 30 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, streaming on Paramount+. Kape (23-7 MMA, 8-3 UFC) comes in on four straight stoppage wins. Van (18-2 MMA, 11-1 UFC) is coming off the defense that settled his title run. He won the belt from Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 323 when Pantoja got hurt early, which left an asterisk floating over the result. Van erased it in September at UFC 331 with a competitive but clear rematch win over Pantoja, and he has also finished Tatsuro Taira. That’s a strong 125-pound résumé for a guy who keeps adding layers.
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Kape gave Van some credit, listing “boxing, resilience, and he was durable” as the things Van has shown. Then he took most of it back. In his view, Pantoja beat himself by fighting angry. “I think Pantoja just fought too emotional, you know?” Kape said. He chalked Van’s mistakes up to inexperience and argued that earlier opponents let him off the hook by standing in the pocket. “I think they just spent time boxing with him,” Kape said, adding that he can box with Van if he wants because that’s where he comes from.
His plan is about tempo. Van likes a brawl, and Kape says he won’t get one unless Kape picks the moment. “The game plan is very easy,” he said, and later, “I’m going to dictate the pace.” He said he’s spotted openings that could get him a finish sooner than he expects, and he signed off with “This is the end of the road.”
Van has already answered. Heavy.com ran a headline saying the champion fired back at Kape. He’s also gotten under Pantoja’s skin before, so Kape isn’t working against an easy mark in the trash-talk department.
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My take: the “fan” bit is good theater, and Kape has earned the right to talk. Four straight stoppages at 125 is rare, and he’s correct that Van rewards opponents who want to slug it out. The issue is the stat Kape skipped. Van is 11-1 in the UFC, and he beat the same Pantoja that Kape is now calling emotional. That gets less impressive only if you believe Pantoja’s mistakes were Pantoja’s fault and nobody else’s, which is convenient for the guy fighting the winner. If Kape can actually set the pace for 25 minutes, he’s a live dog. If he can’t, it ends up as the kind of trade-off Van wants. When the line opens, I’ll be watching whether the money trusts Kape’s game plan or his punchlines. Jan. 30 in Toronto answers it.
