Kape slams ‘coward’ Perez after mid-event fight cancelation at UFC San Antonio
‘Starboy’ went off on his opponent for withdrawing from their fight at UFC San Antonio.
UFC flyweight Manel Kape went nuclear after his fight against Alex Perez was canceled on Saturday.
During the broadcast of UFC San Antonio, UFC play-by-play announcer Brendan Fitzgerald announced that Perez vs. Kape was canceled due to the former dealing with a ‘medical issue’ after he arrived to the arena. That explanation was not enough for Kape, who went off on Perez after he found out he would not step into the Octagon as expected.
A coward will always be a coward pic.twitter.com/Ko4uMKBh4L
— マネル・ケイプ Manel Kape (@ManelKape) March 26, 2023
“Unfortunately, my opponent just came to the [weigh-in] to pose and take a picture!,” wrote Kape. “Inside me I felt that he would not have the courage to face me, our energies were totally different and I knew that he did not want to be here, he did not want the same as I wanted, and it was notorious the fear that emanated from him. But I was surprised to see him getting on the bus and I really thought we were going to fight. Even after grabbing him by the neck and giving him some good slaps in the chest, in the meeting room.
“We arrived at the Arena, warming up, turned on my hands and only three fights left for our fight, he just gave up!,” continued Kape. “Your DNA is an abomination. Unlike you, my DNA is from fearless warriors coming from Queen NJinga Mbande, my DNA has history. I kill by the sword and die by the sword inside the battlefield. YOU COWARD! Cowards die several times before their death.”
Perez and Kape had one of the most fiery staredowns at the ceremonial weigh-ins for UFC San Antonio on Friday, which led to UFC president Dana White and security intervening and separating the fighters. And though there was some heat in this potential fight, Perez had a good reason for withdrawing from it.
Hours after his withdrawal, the Team Oyama product revealed that he suffered a seizure during his pre-fight warm-up. At this time, Perez said he has no other information as to what caused the seizure.
In terms of competition, the former RIZIN FF bantamweight champion is 3-2 in the UFC. Kape is riding a three-fight win streak that includes first-round finishes of Ode’ Osbourne and Zhalgas Zhumagulov.
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About the author: Kristen King is a writer for Bloody Elbow. She has covered combat sports since 2016. (full bio)