‘Nicolau Had Only What He Deserved’

Manel Kape and Matheus Nicolau have unfinished business.

Unfortunately for the pair of top Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight contenders, they didn’t get to settle their differences in UFC Vegas 91’s main event as originally planned this past weekend (April 27, 2024). Kape, 30, revealed shortly after his withdrawal from the main event rematch that he broke the cartilage around his rib. This came after the pair were supposed to fight earlier in the year (Jan. 13, 2024) until Kape missed weight, canceling the bout.

As a result of the most recent change, one-time UFC title challenger, Alex Perez, stepped in to replace Kape. Desperately needing a win after three straight losses, Perez showed up and showed out to score a clean second round knockout of Nicolau. Watching closely, Kape responded with praise and shade in opposite directions.

“Alex Perez is the man [fire emoji]” Kape tweeted. “Nicolau had only what he deserved, he ran from the first fight but the knockout was chasing him. Dead man.”

Unsurprisingly, the mixed martial arts (MMA) community didn’t find Kape’s reaction to be in the best of taste after his track record.

When Kape returns to action he’ll look to extend his winning streak to five after he last scored a unanimous decision over Felipe dos Santos in a Fight of the Night effort this past September 2023. The fight was originally supposed to be Kape vs. Kai Kara-France until the latter suffered a concussion ahead of the fight.

When it comes to the history between Kape and Nicolau, the Brazilian is the last to have defeated Kape. The former RIZIN Bantamweight champion suffered a split decision loss to Nicolau in his sophomore UFC appearance in March 2021.

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