Manel Kape says he’ll make Joshua Van fight look ‘easy’

Joshua Van (18-2) successfully defended his 125-pound championship in a rematch Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 331 on September 19. At the top of flyweight Manel Capewho appears to be the frontrunner to win UFC gold, can’t wait to fight Van as he prefers the matchup stylistically.

Manel Kape considers the striking style of UFC champion Joshua Van to be the perfect match

Van has faced grappling heavyweights in his two title defenses thus far, finishing Tatsuro Taira and thereby covering the distance Alexandre Pantoja in a five-round war. Kape, one of the top strikers in the division, can’t wait to dissect Vani’s boxing-centric fighting style, and he claims he’ll do it effortlessly.

“To me, the perfect style to paint a masterpiece,” Kape posted to X. “You’ll all be surprised how easy I make this fight look.”

The California State Athletic Commission has released the fight night weights for all UFC 331 fighters. Van weighed in at 145.8 pounds on fight night, gaining 20.8 pounds after weighing in at 125 pounds. Kape claims he weighs 160 pounds on fight night.

“Manel Kape; event weight 160 lbs,” he wrote in another post.

Kape (23-7) is currently on a four-fight knockout streak and is fresh off a come-from-behind finish over a top contender Kyoji Horiguchi.