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Personal Information
| Full Name | Manel Kape |
| Date of Birth | November 14, 1993 |
| Age | 31 Years |
| Nationality | Angolan |
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) |
| Weight | 125 lb (57 kg) |
| Nickname | StarBoy |
Manel Kape News
Manel Kape: A Brief Biography
Manel Kape, born on November 14, 1993, is an Angolan mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as a flyweight. He has been a professional fighter since 2012 and has previously fought for Cage Fighters, Knock Out Championship, and Rizin Fighting Federation. He has held titles as the former Rizin Bantamweight Champion and the former Knock Out Championship Bantamweight champion. Kape is currently ranked #9 in the UFC flyweight rankings.
Latest News Update for Manel Kape
Manel Kape had a fight scheduled against Alex Perez on March 25, 2023, which was supposed to take place during UFC Fight Night: Vera vs. Sandhagen. However, the fight was canceled during the event broadcast due to an undisclosed medical issue suffered by Perez.
Manel Kape Facts
| Birth Place | Luanda, Angola |
| Star Sign | Scorpio |
| Net Worth (2023) | $250,000 |
| Last Fight Earnings | $50,000 |
| Age | 29 |
| MMA Debut | 2012 |
| MMA Record | 18-6-0 |
| Achievements | Former Rizin Bantamweight Champion and former Knock Out Championship Bantamweight champion |
| Social Media | Instagram, Twitter |
Early Life and Career
Manel Kape started his fighting career with boxing matches before he made his MMA debut at 14 years old. He won his professional debut fight with Cage Fighters against Artur Gomes with a TKO in the first round.
He then won his next two fights against Renato Ferreira and Ricardo Teixeira with TKOs and a submission win, respectively. At Cage Fighters 3, he won by a unanimous decision against Marco Santos.
Kape suffered his first loss at Knock Out Championship against Souksavanh Khampasath, but he bounced back with a win against Hicham Rachid at Invictus 1 with a flying knee to the body.
He won his next three fights against Daniel Barez, Miguel Valverde, and Antoine Gallinaro with a verbal tapout, rear naked choke, and armbar, respectively. Kape also won against Francisco Javier Asprilla with a third-round TKO. However, he had to pull out of his scheduled fights against Damien ‘The Rage’ Rooney, João Elias, and Moktar Benkaci.
Manel Kape’s Career in Rizin Fighting Federation
Manel Kape took a break from fighting for two years after three consecutive canceled bouts.
He signed with Rizin Fighting Federation and participated in the Rizin bantamweight Grand Prix. In his debut at Rizin 6, he won against Erson Yamamoto with a left leg head kick KO after 71 seconds. In the next round, Kape was scheduled to fight Ian McCall, and they had a physical altercation at the weigh-ins. Kape won the fight by TKO in the first round after a cut stopped the fight.
Kape fought Kyoji Horiguchi in the semifinals, losing in the third round due to an arm triangle choke. He lost a close split decision to Kai Asakura at Rizin 10, which was nominated as Fight of the Month.
Kape won against Yusaku Nakamura at Rizin 13 with a rear naked choke at the end of the third round, but lost to Ulka Sasaki at Rizin 16 with a unanimous decision. He defeated Seiichiro Ito with a left hook to the body in the second round at Rizin 15.
Manel Kape faced Takeya Mizugaki at Rizin 18, a former UFC fighter and bantamweight title challenger. Kape won dominantly in the second round, knocking Mizugaki out with a powerful uppercut and a right hook to the jaw. After the fight, Kape called out Kyoji Horiguchi, the Rizin bantamweight champion at the time.
However, Horiguchi vacated the belt due to a knee injury. Kape was then scheduled to fight Kai Asakura in a rematch, this time with the vacant bantamweight title on the line. Before the fight, Kape tore up a cardboard cutout of Asakura and declared "You are already dead," and then proceeded to chew up the remains.
In the fight itself, Asakura used his reach advantage to try and outfight Kape, while Kape looked to land strikes by blitzing in. Kape was successful in the second round, earning a TKO victory with a flurry of punches. This win led to Kape being nominated for Fighter of the Year at the Asian MMA awards.
Manel Kape’s Career in UFC
On March 30, 2020, Manel Kape signed a four-fight deal with the UFC. His scheduled debut against Rogério Bontorin at UFC 252 was canceled due to an ankle injury sustained by Bontorin. Kape was then scheduled to fight Alexandre Pantoja at UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Neal on December 19, 2020, but Pantoja withdrew due to COVID-19 symptoms. Kape was briefly considered as a replacement for the UFC Flyweight Championship bout at UFC 256.
Kape's UFC debut finally took place on February 6, 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Volkov, where he lost to Alexandre Pantoja via unanimous decision. On March 13, 2021, Kape faced Matheus Nicolau at UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad, losing via a controversial split decision.
Kape won his first UFC fight on August 7, 2021, at UFC 265, against Ode' Osbourne via a knockout in the first round. He then faced Zhalgas Zhumagulov on December 4, 2021, at UFC on ESPN 31, winning via technical knockout in the first round.
Kape withdrew from his scheduled bout against Su Mudaerji at UFC Fight Night 205 on April 23, 2022, due to personal reasons. His scheduled rematch against Rogério Bontorin at UFC 275 on June 11, 2022, was also canceled due to Bontorin suffering kidney issues related to cutting weight.
Kape faced David Dvořák on December 17, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 216, winning via unanimous decision. His fight with Alex Perez was canceled as Perez suffered an undisclosed medical issue on the day of the fight.
Manel Kape Record
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location |
| Win | 18–6 | David Dvořák | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Strickland | December 17, 2022 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
| Win | 17–6 | Zhalgas Zhumagulov | TKO (punches) | UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Aldo | December 4, 2021 | 1 | 4:02 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
| Win | 16–6 | Ode' Osbourne | KO (flying knee and punches) | UFC 265 | August 7, 2021 | 1 | 4:44 | Houston, Texas, United States |
| Loss | 15–6 | Matheus Nicolau | Decision (split) | UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad | March 13, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
| Loss | 15–5 | Alexandre Pantoja | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Volkov | February 6, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
| Win | 15–4 | Kai Asakura | TKO (punches) | Rizin 20 | December 31, 2019 | 2 | 0:38 | Saitama, Japan |
| Win | 14–4 | Takeya Mizugaki | KO (punch) | Rizin 18 | August 18, 2019 | 2 | 1:36 | Nagoya, Japan |
| Win | 13–4 | Seiichiro Ito | TKO (punch to the body) | Rizin 15 | April 21, 2019 | 2 | 3:59 | Yokohama, Japan |
| Loss | 12–4 | Ulka Sasaki | Decision (unanimous) | Rizin 14 | December 31, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Saitama, Japan |
| Win | 12–3 | Yusaku Nakamura | Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) | Rizin 13 | September 30, 2018 | 3 | 4:27 | Saitama, Japan |
| Loss | 11–3 | Kai Asakura | Decision (split) | Rizin 10 | May 6, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Fukuoka, Japan |
| Loss | 11–2 | Kyoji Horiguchi | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Rizin World Grand Prix 2017: Final Round | December 31, 2017 | 3 | 4:27 | Saitama, Japan |
| Win | 11–1 | Ian McCall | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Rizin World Grand Prix 2017: 2nd Round | December 29, 2017 | 1 | 1:46 | Saitama, Japan |
| Win | 10–1 | Erson Yamamoto | TKO (head kick and punch) | Rizin World Grand Prix 2017: Opening Round - Part 2 | October 15, 2017 | 1 | 1:11 | Saitama, Japan |
| Win | 9–1 | Francisco Javier Asprilla | TKO (punches) | International Pro Combat 7 | April 27, 2015 | 3 | 4:59 | Lisbon, Portugal |
| Win | 8–1 | Antoine Gallinaro | Submission (armbar) | Knock Out Championship 8 | April 18, 2015 | 4 | 2:26 | Cognac, France |
| Win | 7–1 | Miguel Valverde | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Invictus Pro MMA League 2 | December 19, 2014 | 3 | N/A | Porto, Portugal |
| Win | 6–1 | Daniel Barez | Submission (verbal) | Ansgar Fighting League 2 | November 29, 2014 | 1 | 3:25 | Madrid, Spain |
| Win | 5–1 | Hicham Rachid | KO (flying knee to the body) | Invictus Pro MMA League 1 | July 27, 2014 | 1 | 2:42 | Porto, Portugal |
| Loss | 4–1 | Souksavanh Khampasath | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Knock Out Championship 7 | April 5, 2014 | 3 | 3:27 | Cognac, France |
| Win | 4–0 | Marco Santos | Decision (unanimous) | Cage Fighters 3 | July 28, 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Matosinhos, Portugal |
| Win | 3–0 | Ricardo Teixeira | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Cage Fighters: Challengers Norte 2 | February 3, 2013 | 1 | 2:38 | Matosinhos, Portugal |
| Win | 2–0 | Renato Ferreira | TKO (punches) | Cage Fighters: Challengers Norte 1 | November 4, 2012 | 1 | 0:45 | Matosinhos, Portugal |
| Win | 1–0 | Artur Gomes | TKO (punches) | Cage Fighters 2 | May 13, 2012 | 1 | 4:27 | Matosinhos, Portugal |
Manel Kape’s Most Popular Fights
Manel Kape vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov
Manel Kape fought Zhalgas Zhumagulov at UFC Vegas 44 on Saturday, December 4, 2021. Manel Kape won the fight via TKO in the first round.
FAQs on Manel Kape
What is Manel Kape's fighting nickname?
Manel Kape's fighting nickname is "StarBoy".
What weight class does Manel Kape compete in?
Manel Kape competes in the UFC flyweight division, which has a limit of 125 pounds (56.7 kg).
What is Manel Kape's professional record?
Manel Kape holds a professional MMA record of 18 wins, 6 losses, and 0 draws.
Last Updated On 26th March 2023
