LAS VEGAS – Matheus Nicolau has his eyes set on challenging for the UFC flyweight title, and Manel Kape is no longer a stop on that journey.
Nicolau (19-4-1 MMA, 7-2 UFC) headlines UFC on ESPN 55 (ESPN, ESPN+) at the UFC Apex this Saturday against former title challenger Alex Perez. It will be Nicolau’s first fight in a year, due to Kape being unable to make it to the cage for a pair of bookings. Luckily, Perez (24-8 MMA, 6-4 UFC) stepped up as a replacement.
“Right away when we got the news that Manel was out, we got frustrated,” Nicolau told reporters at Wednesday’s media day. “I was thinking about him since last year, like we started preparation around November, December because the fight was in the beginning of January.
