Manel Kape spots Joshua Van’s mistakes, eyes early finish at UFC 336

Kape (23-7) will challenge Van (18-2) for the 125-pound title on January 30, 2027 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. The Angolan contender enters the match having finished with four fights and hopes to dictate the pace against the champion.

Manel Kape says Joshua Van’s inexperience leaves openings he can exploit in their UFC flyweight title fight

Speaking MMA junkieKape praised Van’s boxing ability and stamina, but argued that the champion makes mistakes that previous opponents have not been able to exploit.

“The game plan is very simple,” Kape said. “I know he had a lot of mistakes because of his lack of experience because he wasn’t very tall in the sport, and I just think a lot of guys didn’t take advantage of that.”

Kape believes he can compete with Van in a boxing match while preventing the champion from getting into a fight.

“I’m seeing things that could make me finish earlier than expected,” Kape said. “So I’ll definitely surprise him and then I can tell it’s going to be frustrating because he likes to have fights like that.”

“Starboy” is confident of controlling the pace of these innings.

“We don’t get into that position because I dictate the tempo,” Kape said. “I determine when we should fight, when we should go slow, and when I can change the pace of the fight.”

Kape also cautioned Van against overconfidence after capturing the belt, claiming he had the edge in both experience and skill.