MANCHESTER, England – Coach Eric Nicksick found himself caught in the middle of Manel Kape and Muhammad Mokaev’s altercation at the host hotel, and he didn’t see it coming.
Kape (19-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) faces Mokaev (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) on Saturday at UFC 304 from Co-op Live. Tensions have been boiling between the two top-ranked flyweights, who engaged in a brawl at the fighter hotel just days out from their fight. Kape’s coach Nicksick explains that Mokaev set Kape up after initiating conversation in a friendly manner.
“It was a very weird situation,” Nicksick told MMA Junkie. “Because we were all walking back into the hotel and then Mokaev and his team were coming out, they were very peaceful, and Mokaev wanted to take a picture with Manel. He said, ‘For our Muslim brothers, let’s take a picture for peace,’ and Manel agreed to that picture. It just felt weird.
