UFC flyweight contender Manel Kape didn’t hold back on champion Joshua Van over recent fight dodging allegations linked to UFC 324.
UFC 324 took a big hit just days before the event as women’s bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison was forced to withdraw from her fight with Amanda Nunes due to a neck injury. Harrison recently underwent surgery for the injury and is expected to miss around six months before being medically cleared to compete.
After UFC 324, it was alleged by UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van that he nearly stepped up on short notice to fight a top contender in the co-main event slot. Manel Kape, who knocked out Brandon Royval last month in the year’s UFC finale, was allegedly approached to fight Van at UFC 324.
Van accused Kape of turning down the fight due to weight issues, blasting Kape in a series of social media posts. It didn’t take long for the knockout artist Kape to respond.
Manel Kape: Joshua Van fight offered to fill for Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes
In a recent post to X, Kape responded to Van’s claims.
“Let me explain what this idiot is talking about. First of all, there was never a contract. Second, the UFC ‘considered’ me fighting Joshua last Saturday to replace the Kayla vs. Amanda fight, but thye told me only one week before,” Kape tweeted.
“And obviously, there’s no way I’d make weight in one week [LAUGHS]. And if I missed weight, I’d be more frozen than Arman Tsarukyan.
“Let’s do things the right way.”
Van earned the flyweight belt by defeating Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 323, after Pantoja suffered a serious injury just seconds into the fight. Meanwhile, Kape has won three fights in a row since a unanimous decision defeat to Muhammad Mokaev at UFC 304.
As of this writing, it’s uncertain if Van will fight Pantoja or Kape for his first title defense. If Pantoja needs time to recover from his recent ailment, expect Kape to be the most logical option to fight the newly minted champion.