UFC flyweight fighter Manel Kape has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled fight against Matheus Nicolau due to a rib injury that required surgery, delaying his pursuit of a title shot until later in 2024.
Manel Kape’s quest for a UFC flyweight title shot has hit a roadblock. He’ll have to wait until later in 2024 to resume his pursuit.
Kape was set to fight Matheus Nicolau at UFC Vegas 91 on April 27. But, alas, that’s not happening now.
Tuesday brought the news that Kape is out. He’s been replaced by Alex Perez, a one-time title challenger. Perez will now face Nicolau in the main event.
Why is Kape out? A rib injury, it turns out.
Kape had to undergo surgery to fix the damage. He revealed this himself, adding that it’s the first time he’s ever had to pull out of a fight.
He tweeted about it. “I broke the cartilage of my rib and I couldn’t move for a week,” he wrote. “On Thursday last week my surgery went extremely well.”
He also reminded his followers that any past cancellations were due to his opponents, not him. He’s a fighter, through and through.
He added, “Where I came from we used to fight for free, I’m not bragging about I’m just being honest so don’t ever think I’m like some of you guys.”
Kape was originally set to fight Nicolau in January. But he weighed in at 129.5 pounds, over the flyweight limit for a non-title fight. The fight was cancelled.
Kape later said an illness affected his weight cut. But he still wanted to fight.
The fight was then rescheduled for April. But now, with Kape’s rib injury, it’s off again.
Kape is on a four-fight win streak, with two knockouts. His last fight was in September at UFC 293. It was a Fight of the Night effort.
But now, this injury will keep him out of action for a while. There’s no exact timeline for his return.