Another top prospect in the bantamweight division is making his way to the UFC as RIZIN Bantamweight Champion Manel Kape has signed a four-fight deal with the promotion.
Fighting out of Oporto, Portugal, the 26-year-old has been in the mixed martial arts business since 2013. Whether it’s a dangerous left head kick, a right hook, or a head and arm choke submission, the young fighter is known for his versatility inside of the octagon and quickly rose through the ranks of the 135-pound division by beating talents in Cage Fighters, Knock Out Championship, and Invictus Pro MMA League.
Kape made his way to RIZIN in 2017 and excelled from the start by winning the first and second round of the RIZIN Fighting World Grand Prix; however, the bantamweight would ultimately come up short winning the entire tournament as Kyoji Horiguchi halted his momentum with a submission win in the third round.
Kape struggled a bit in his next three fights; however, the Portugal native bounced back with a TKO victory over Seiichiro Ito. Kape would have a rematch against Kai Asakura at RIZIN 20 and defeated the fighter to win the vacant bantamweight title.
At the moment, there’s no word on when he’ll make his debut in the UFC.