Manel Kape predicts Joshua Van will keep his UFC flyweight title
Flyweight contender Manel Kape gives his reasons for siding with the champ Joshua Van at UFC 327.
Manel Kape doesn't see the UFC flyweight title changing hands at UFC 327. Kape (22-7 MMA, 7-3 UFC), one of the top contenders in the division, who should arguably be fighting the champ Joshua Van at the numbered event in April, sees the fight going a particular way, given the challenger Tatsuro Taira's tendencies. "It's an interesting fight – I don't know," Kape told MMA Junkie.
"To beat Joshua, you have to be very aggressive, and I don't know if Tatsuro Taira have that aggression on the striking going forward, you know? Because we saw Joshua Van already, he was pretty good with another Japanese guy he fought. He had an incredible takedown defense.
Rei Tsuruya, in my opinion, is more aggressive than Tatsuro Taira in terms of going for takedowns and going to push forward. "Tatusro Taira is more like the kind of style, not so aggressive striking, but more aggressive on the ground, but the fight doesn't start on the ground. I don't know, man.
I think I'm going with Joshua Van. " Kape and Van (16-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) were presented with the opportunity to fight each other on short notice, but things didn't work out. They may disagree on why that was the case, but Kape's main position is that he was simply unable to take a very short-notice fight due to being unable to make championship weight.