Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Time to play matchmaker for Brandon Royval, Brandon Moreno, Brian Ortega and Yair Rodriguez in the aftermath of UFC Fight Night 237.
After every event, fans wonder whom the winners will be matched up with next.
With another night of UFC action in the rearview mirror, it’s time to look forward, put on a pair of Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard’s shoes, and play UFC matchmaker for UFC Fight Night 237’s key winning fighters.
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Flyweight contender Manel Kape addressed why he missed weight for his UFC Fight Night 234 bout against Matheus Nicolau.
UFC flyweight contender [autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag] missed weight Friday morning, leading to the first UFC fight cancellation of 2024.
Kape (19-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) was scheduled to compete against Matheus Nicolau in an important co-headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, but Kape missed the flyweight limit by 3.5 pounds. Nicolau (19-4-1 MMA, 7-2 UFC) initially accepted a 25 percent fine, but the promotion later announced the fight was scrapped.
Kape posted a statement on Instagram, in which he said an illness and the use of antibiotics affected his training regimen, ultimately leading to the second weight miss of his UFC career. He also stated he would give Nicolau his entire purse to save the fight, but that did not happen.
Read Kape’s full statement below:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C2A94x1yTvt/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==
Guys, I couldn’t make the weight this time, two weeks ago I was extremely sick due to a virus that happened here in Las Vegas, And I had to stay out of training for 5 days and filling myself with antibiotics,
not only affected me but many of my training partners .My coaches and my manager thought it was better for me to cancel the fight due to the state I was in. But I decided to move on and not cancel. My opponent didn’t accept to fight or accept my purse.
I would give him my entire purse if he wants to fight. But things are as they are, and i take all the responsibilities.
Last year I had 5 fights canceled one of them my opponent was 11 LB above, even so I agreed to fight.
. Thank you to all the @ufcpi nutritionists who tried everything for me to make the weight.
See you guys Soon 🙏🏾
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The rematch between Manel Kape and Matheus Nicolau won’t happen at UFC Fight Night 234, after all.
The rematch between [autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag] and [autotag]Matheus Nicolau[/autotag] won’t happen Saturday at UFC Fight Night 234, after all.
After Kape (19-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) missed weight by 3.5 pounds for his scheduled flyweight co-headliner against Nicolau (19-4-1 MMA, 7-2 UFC) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, the bout was called off.
UFC officials announced the news Friday after it has previously claimed Nicolau had agreed to accept a 25 percent fine of Kape’s purse and the bout would go on.
Manel Kape is the first UFC fighter to miss weight in 2024.
He was 3.5 pounds over the flyweight limit for his #UFCVegas84 rematch vs. Matheus Nicolau. pic.twitter.com/5vRUmdg7v7
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) January 12, 2024
The cancellation continues a difficult trend for Kape in recent years. He’s had eight fights called off since making his octagon debut in February 2021, with only six fights taking place.
He was attempting to avenge a unanimous decision loss from March 2021 against Nicolau, but now it will have to wait.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 234.
Matheus Nicolau previews his rematch against Manel Kape at UFC Fight Night 234.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Matheus Nicolau[/autotag] already proved he has what it takes to beat [autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag]. Yet, the UFC flyweight contender plans to bring new things to the table in their rematch.
Nicolau (19-4-1 MMA, 7-2 UFC) and Kape (19-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) collide for a second time this Saturday in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 234. The Brazilian is keeping in mind the things that helped him beat Kape in 2021, but he’s also looking to show new tools in the octagon.
“We always try to bring some new things,” Nicolau told reporters at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 234 media day. “I’m always training a lot, since my last fight in the beginning of last year I had a long time to train. Thank God I had no injuries, so I could focus a lot on training. That was my No. 1 focus ever, to train to get better.
“So for sure I’ll try to bring something new, and I also want to make the weapons that I already have even better, even sharper.”
Kape has already predicted a first-round finish for himself. Nicolau will try to match him, but he’s also ready to go the distance once again.
“I’m ready for the hard 15 minutes,” Nicolau said. “This is a high-level matchup so you have to be ready to fight a very hard 15 minutes., but I think the core of the martial arts is to finish the fight, so I’ll keep that in mind, but I’m in no shush to do that. I just want o keep focused and do my best performance I’ve ever done inside the octagon.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 234.
Manel Kape is confident he’s going to earn himself a title shot at UFC Fight Night 234.
LAS VEGAS – Despite having several names campaigning for a title shot, [autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag] is confident he’ll be the No. 1 contender.
The UFC flyweight believes he’s next for UFC flyweight champion [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] if all goes well for him in his next UFC bout. Kape (19-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) returns to the cage Saturday in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 234 in a rematch against Matheus Nicolau.
Kape is determined to secure his title shot this Saturday.
“My goal is to be a champion,” Kape told reporters at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 234 media day. “I believe that beating Matheus Nicolau, I’ll get the title shot. This is my goal. It’s obvious.”
Kape, who lost to Nicolau (19-4-1 MMA, 7-2 UFC) in a split decision back in 2021, plans to not let the fight go the distance this time around. He believes that’s a key factor in him getting a shot at UFC gold.
“Of course it’s going to be dependent on how I win, and that’s going to dictate everything,” Kape said. “I’m looking for the knockout or to finish him in the first round, definitely.”
In terms of a potential showdown against Pantoja, Kape likes his chances. He wasn’t too impressed with what the champion displayed in his first title defense against Brandon Royval at UFC 296 in December.
“It was a little bit sloppy, but he did it for the win,” Kape said. “Right now, he’s got the belt so he’s going to play dirty to win, and not (do) a performance because he’s not going to expose himself, but good for him. I’m here to performance. I’m going to be me all the time: Aggressive. Hopefully. I’m going to face him this year.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 234.
The best facts about UFC Fight Night 234, which features chances for Jim Miller and Andrei Arlovski to add to their historic resumes.
After a nearly monthlong hiatus, the UFC opens its 2024 schedule on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 234, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and streams on ESPN+.
Light heavyweight contenders are set to rematch in the main event of the card. [autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag] (18-1-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC) and [autotag]Johnny Walker[/autotag] (21-7 MMA, 7-4 UFC) will run it back with five rounds scheduled after their originally meeting at UFC 294 in October ended in a no contest due to an illegal knee from Ankalaev that halted the action.
For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts for UFC Fight Night 234.
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Before UFC Fight Night 234 on Saturday, watch as the main card athletes speak to reporters at media day.
LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 234, which takes place at the UFC Apex with a card that streams entirely on ESPN+, goes down Saturday.
Before fight night arrives, though, notable athletes from the main card spoke to reporters Wednesday at media day.
If you happen to miss any of the individual sessions on the live stream, check below for the archived videos of each media day.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 234.
Xtreme Couture is MMA Junkie’s 2023 Gym of the Year for its success molding Francis Ngannou, Sean Strickland, Patchy Mix and others.
What a year it was for the Las Vegas-based Xtreme Couture’s coaching staff and fight team.
Head coach Eric Nicksick was at the helm, flanked by a staff that includes Dewey Cooper, Dennis Davis, Nathan Pettit, Eddie Barraco, Jimmy Gifford, Danny Davis Jr., Maki Pitolo, Jake Shields, Ray Sefo, Roman Isbell, Matheus Naccache, Gil Guardado, and Justin Jaynes among others.
Among the gym’s accomplishments in 2023, [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] crossed over into the world of boxing, where he knocked down (and nearly defeated) heavyweight champion Tyson Fury – in his professional debut.
Xtreme Couture middleweight staple [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] defied the odds when he dethroned Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 in September to become champion.
[autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] solidified his status as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters outside the UFC when he finished Raufeon Stots and Sergio Pettis to win the Bellator bantamweight grand prix and divisional title.
Other Xtreme Couture standouts in 2023 included [autotag]Tatiana Suarez[/autotag], [autotag]Daniel Zellhuber[/autotag], [autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag], [autotag]Farid Basharat[/autotag], [autotag]Javid Basharat[/autotag], and others who also had strong years. The training room’s population continues to grow with many other fighters on the verge of greatness.
That’s why Xtreme Couture is MMA Junkie’s 2023 Gym of the Year.
What better time than the end of the year for UFC and MMA notables to reflect on who they appreciated most in 2023.
‘”As real as it gets” is the UFC’s slogan to describe just how realistic MMA combat can be. But before fighters get to any of the face punching, they typically share a moment of respect, a moment of peace that represents their mutual acknowledgment for the struggle to arrive at the moment: the touch of gloves.
Fighters might beat each other up for as much as 25 minutes, but the respect for one another and the sport seldom goes away and the martial arts spirt is always with them.
In this year’s edition of “Touch of Gloves,” we see that spirt come to life as fighters, coaches and more show appreciation to the people they think especially deserve a shoutout for what they did in 2023:
Enjoy!
Manel Kape sees Alexandre Pantoja beating Brandon Royval again when they fight for Pantoja’s flyweight title at UFC 296.
[autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag] sees [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] beating [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] again.
Flyweight champion Pantoja (26-5 MMA, 10-3 UFC) runs things back with Royval (15-6 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in the UFC 296 co-headliner on Dec. 16 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, which streams on pay-per-view following prelims expected on ESPN and ESPN+.
In their first fight in August 2021, Pantoja submitted Royval by second-round rear-naked choke. Kape, who’s UFC debut loss came to Pantoja, thinks Royval has an unorthodox fighting style which will cost him.
“Pantoja, definitely,” Kape said on the “Believe You Me” podcast. “No doubt. Pantoja’s more consistent than him, but Brandon Royval is unpredictable. This guy is not too technical, but he throws some weird stuff.
“Yes, he’s wild. I prefer a fight with someone that know how to fight than someone that don’t know how to fight. When I look at Brandon Royval, I see someone that doesn’t know how to fight.”
Kape (19-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) rematches Matheus Nicolau at a UFC Fight Night event on Jan. 13 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Nicolau edged out Kape in March 2021, and Kape is excited to rectify that wrong. Since losing to Pantoja and Nicolau back-to-back, Kape has won four straight.
“It’s a good fight to show that I won the first fight we had,” Kape said. “Clear. Right now I’m just a different fighter, and I’ve been showing that I’m a different level than most of the flyweight division. So, I’m going to be very motivated for this fight. We have some history so, it’s good to me.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 296.
