This past Saturday night on the main card of UFC 293, we saw a sensational bout in the flyweight division. Top contender Manel Kape (19-6) was back as he was taking on promotional newcomer Felipe Dos Santos (7-1). Originally, Kape was supposed to face Kai Kara-France (24-11) on Saturday night.
However, after Kara-France suffered a concussion in training, he had to pull out of the fight. Felipe Dos Santos was originally supposed to fight for a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series. However, after his opponent was pulled from their fight, the promotion came to him with the opportunity of a lifetime.
The chance to debut on a PPV main card against a top ten contender. Dos Santos jumped at the opportunity and boy did he come to fight on Saturday night. He got right in Manel Kape’s face and was willing to trade with one of the more dangerous strikers in the division.
Even after getting dropped by Kape in the first round, Dos Santos never stopped pushing forward. That said, he kept pushing forward against someone who was a little more polished and that ultimately cost him. He didn’t back away, but the night belonged to Manel Kape who won a decision at UFC 293.
What’s next after UFC 293?
It’s no secret that Manel Kape and Kai Kara-France have serious heat. They got into it at the pre-fight press conference with Kape throwing a water bottle at Kara-France and then getting into it with former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya who is KKF’s teammate.
Kape and Kara-France also were shown on screen during Kape’s post-fight interview. Kape threw a number of insults at Kara-France and his team including using a slur which has made his post-fight interview unavailable. So, should the UFC rebook this fight?
Absolutely, this is the easiest decision after the weekend. There is a ton of hype because of the heat and that’s rare with a non-title flyweight fight.