SYDNEY – From throwing water bottles at a press conference to winning a Fight of the Night battle, and then needing to issue an apology for homophobic language during his post-fight interview, Manel Kape had a tumultuous fight week.
At the UFC 293 pre-fight press conference, Kape (19-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) didn’t give his opponent Felipe dos Santos much attention, and instead focused on the man he was originally slated to face at the event, Kai Kara-France. After withdrawing due to concussion symptoms, Kara-France showed up to the press conference in support of his City Kickboxing teammates on stage. Kape launched verbal attacks and a water bottle in his direction.
On fight night, Kape found himself in a war against the UFC newcomer dos Santos, who gave Kape a few scares over 15 minutes. Kape won by unanimous decision, and the exciting battle later earned the Fight of the Night award.
During his post-fight interview, Kape once again turned his attention to Kara-France, but unfortunately delivered a homophobic slur during his callout.
“Yeah, I am sorry for that,” Kape told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference. “It’s emotional, you know. During the fight, during the interview, we are all emotions. We say things that we didn’t want to say, but for (those) who feel bad about that, I apologize.”
While Kape was sorry for his use of words, he maintained his vitriol for Kara-France’s withdrawal from their scheduled bout. “Starboy” said he is currently dealing with a “big” injury that may require surgery, but still showed up to compete for what he planned to be a title-eliminator bout against Kara-France.
“A win on this night was supposed to be to fight next for the title,” Kape said. “I just believe that they are a little bit hypocritical, because their team says they have to go into with injuries, they have to fight. They talked about Dricus (Du Plessis) about Israel Adesanya, he didn’t fight because of injuries. What happened to Kai Kara? We didn’t know really what happened, you know? So, this is my question to him.
“… I go into (fights with) injuries. This is the mentality of the champ, you know? I’m not going to waste the time of anyone, and I’m not going to waste my time.”
Kape, who currently holds the No. 12 spot in the latest MMA Junkie/USA TODAY Sports flyweight rankings, hopes Kara-France (No. 9) will sign to fight him again. He wants the fight to be for five rounds, but not a headliner of a Fight Night event. Kape wants it to take place on another pay-per-view event as originally planned.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 293.
