Manel Kape believes Kai Kara-France self-sabotaged at UFC 317 against Alexandre Pantoja.
UFC flyweight contender Kai Kara-France‘s second attempt at becoming a titleholder fell well short of the mark against Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 317.
Kara-France, who landed just 38 significant strikes against Pantoja in the UFC 317 co-main, put on an uncharacteristically sluggish performance against the UFC flyweight champion. On the other side of the coin, it was another signature showing for Pantoja, who submitted Kara-France in the third round by rear-naked choke.
It was largely one-way traffic for Pantoja in his latest UFC flyweight title defense as he continues to move up the division’s leaderboards. As for Kara-France, his showing at UFC 317 prompted a strong reaction from one of his longtime foes.
Manel Kape goes off on Kai Kara-France after lopsided loss at UFC 317
UFC flyweight contender Manel Kape was supposed to face Brandon Royval on the UFC 317 main card before Kape broke his foot just weeks before the event. Royval went on to face Joshua Van in an instant classic, with Van earning a unanimous decision victory.
Kape and Kara-France were supposed to square off earlier in their careers at UFC 293, before Kara-France withdrew due to injury. The two flyweights nearly brawled at the UFC 293 pre-fight press conference before Kape got into it with Israel Adesanya on stage.
After one of the most disappointing performances of Kara-France’s career, Kape seized the opportunity to lambast his longtime adversary.
In a pre-fight post to X, Kape seemed unconcerned by Pantoja and Kara-France just minutes before the UFC 317 co-main event kicked off.
“I would murder both on same night,” Kape began.
After Pantoja choked Kara-France to sleep, Kape didn’t hold back on his longtime foe.
“Kai IQ is more lower than I was thinking,” Kape said.
As of this writing, Kara-France hasn’t responded to Kape’s taunts.
Kape’s UFC return timeline is uncertain, as of this writing, as he continues to recover from his foot injury. The ailment came at an unfortunate time for Kape, after recent victories over Asu Almabayev and Bruno Silva.
Van will likely get the next shot at Pantoja later this year after his victory at UFC 317. Kara-France and Kape are on the outside of the title mix and could potentially settle their beef in a highly-anticipated grudge match.
Kai Kara-France and Manel Kape could settle years’ long beef after UFC 317
Kara-France recently admitted that he ‘hates’ Kape, after calling him out for a showdown at UFC 305 last year. But the fight never came to fruition, as Kara-France went on to knock out former title challenger Steve Erceg in the first round.
Depending on how long Kape will need to resume training, a potential matchup with Kara-France could be on the UFC matchmakers’ radar for a top flyweight showdown. Kape has won six of his last seven fights, with the lone blemish coming against Muhammad Mokaev at UFC 304 last year.
The UFC flyweight division is arguably better than ever, and Kape vs. Kara-France could be the latest rivalry in one of the UFC’s most exciting roster groupings.