Flyweights
#10 FLW | Manel Kape (18-6, 3-2 UFC) vs. Felipe dos Santos (7-0, 0-0 UFC)Kape seems to be turning a corner, so it is nice to finally see him get another opportunity to show off his wares. An explosive knockout artist in Japan, “Starboy” struggled to make the transition to facing the UFC’s flyweight roster. Faced with more athletic parity, Kape’s tendency to hang back and wait for an opportunity to finish instead led to some flat decision losses. However, Kape has started to ramp up the aggression and replicated some of his prior success, and his 2022 win over David Dvorak was a solid showing that saw him keep up his effectiveness for three rounds. Yet, building on that momentum has been a struggle, as Kape has had three separate ranked opponents pull out of fights over the course of 2023. He will at least finally get some cage time here against a UFC newcomer in dos Santos. Days shy of his 23rd birthday, dos Santos is certainly a prospect worth picking up, as he has already proved effective as an aggressive pressure artist. Still, this seems like a tough ask. His style means he will charge right into Kape’s power and be unlikely to win a war of attrition. The pick is Kape via second-round knockout.
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