Former RIZIN champion Manel Kape was to fight at UFC 252 but saw his debut get postponed

Manel Kape is eyeing a return to action sometime in October after his UFC debut was postponed.

The former RIZIN star was to face Rogerio Bontorin but his opponent had to withdraw from the clash. However, the UFC had a couple of other opponents in mind for Kape but the 26-year-old suffered an ankle injury and is aiming for a return later this year.

Kape was speaking to MMA Unhinged and spoke about what his goals were in the UFC:

“We are in the UFC, everybody’s good, you know. Everybody is professional, everybody is training hard but we have different goals. My goal is to be a champion.”

He was also searching for a top-five fight and claimed that others might be in MMA to have a decent lifestyle but that’s not the case for him:

“My goal is to be a champion. If I don’t want to do all the things, I don’t stay here and fight MMA.”

However, Kape wasn’t just looking to become a champion, he also wanted to do it with style. The 26-year-old revealed that he wants to be a smart fighter too:

“I want to be the best of the best.

“My real goal in this sport is to show everybody that I am the most smart fighter in the world. If I can show my skill with my body language.”

Better than Figueiredo

Kape also claimed that he was coming for Deiveson Figueiredo’s belt and he believed that a title clash would take place next year.

Figueiredo defeated Joseph Benavidez to win the vacant Flyweight title, but Kape believed he had better cardio than the champion.

The 26-year-old claimed his cardio would increase with each round with Figueiredo could not do five rounds. Kape further said that he was more “complete” than the new champion and that the cardio aspect was a huge difference between the two.

This is an exclusive interview from MMA Unhinged. For more exclusive interviews and content please follow the link.

More UFC news

• Justin Jaynes recalls how Randy Couture helped him out and which WWE star he wanted to emulate

• “Rocky and Apollo” – Michael Chiesa opens up on Jorge Masvidal relationship and possibility of rematch

• Khamzat Chimaev wants Conor McGregor after “rat lip” comment

Follow our dedicated UFC page for instant UFC news and updates