{"id":829815,"date":"2025-02-26T02:12:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T08:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/26\/manel-kape-earned-his-first-ufc-win-with-a-devastating-flying-knee-before-hitting-cristiano-ronaldos-iconic-celebration\/"},"modified":"2025-02-26T02:12:00","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T08:12:00","slug":"manel-kape-earned-his-first-ufc-win-with-a-devastating-flying-knee-before-hitting-cristiano-ronaldos-iconic-celebration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/26\/manel-kape-earned-his-first-ufc-win-with-a-devastating-flying-knee-before-hitting-cristiano-ronaldos-iconic-celebration\/","title":{"rendered":"Manel Kape earned his first UFC win with a devastating flying knee before hitting Cristiano Ronaldo\u2019s iconic celebration"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Football <\/p>\n<div>\n<article id=\"post-178740\">\n<p><strong>Manel Kape\u2019s first UFC win ended with a nod to one of the most popular athletes on Earth; footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>UFC flyweight <a href=\"http:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/tag\/manel-kape\">Manel Kape<\/a> has an impressive highlight reel during his eight-fight promotional stint. The former Rizin bantamweight champion is a matchup nightmare on the feet, as evidenced by his most recent performance at UFC Tampa.<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<p>Kape will face surging flyweight contender <a href=\"http:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/tag\/asu-almabayev\">Asu Almabayev<\/a> at UFC Vegas 102 this Saturday at the Apex. He returns to the Octagon following a brutal knockout of <a href=\"http:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/tag\/bruno-silva\">Bruno Silva<\/a> in December to get back into the flyweight title conversation.<\/p>\n<p>Before making his way to the UFC, <a href=\"https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/2020\/03\/31\/ufc-signs-rizin-bantamweight-sensation-manel-kape-champion-mma-news\/\">Kape was a standout performer in Rizin<\/a>, defeating the likes of former title challenger <a href=\"http:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/tag\/kai-asakura\">Kai Asakura<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/tag\/takeya-mizugaki\">Takeya Mizugaki<\/a>. But the beginning of his UFC tenure was anything but easy as Kape lost back-to-back fights to <a href=\"http:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/tag\/alexandre-pantoja\">Alexandre Pantoja<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/tag\/matheus-nicolau\">Matheus Nicolau<\/a>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><svg width=\"20\" height=\"20\"><use href=\"http:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/#list-arrow-svg\" \/><\/svg><strong>READ MORE:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/2025\/02\/25\/how-close-magomed-ankalaev-is-to-breaking-incredible-jon-jones-unbeaten-streak\/\">How close Magomed Ankalaev is to breaking incredible Jon Jones unbeaten streak<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"701\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1\/2025\/02\/GettyImages-2190008681-1-1024x701.jpg\" alt=\"Football Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC\" ><\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption title=\"TAMPA, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 14: Manel Kape of Angola taunts opponent Bruno Silva of Brazil in a flyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Amalie Arena on December 14, 2024 in Tampa, Florida.  (Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC)\">Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Football Manel Kape sent shockwaves through the flyweight division with a brutal flying knee<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/2021\/08\/07\/ufc-265-early-prelims-results-video-kape-lands-flying-knee-on-osbourne-johns-ko-dos-santos-mma\/\">Kape entered UFC 265<\/a> against <a href=\"http:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/tag\/ode-osbourne\">Ode\u2019 Osbourne<\/a> in a must-win situation after suffering two losses to begin his UFC contract. It was a matchup between two elite strikers with wicked speed and power for the weight class.<\/p>\n<p>In the closing seconds of Round 1, Kape lured Osbourne forward, countering with a beautifully timed flying knee to Osbourne\u2019s chin that floored the flyweight mainstay. After finishing the fight with ground-and-pound, Kape celebrated his first UFC win by mimicking footballer Cristiano Ronaldo\u2019s famous goal celebration.<\/p>\n<p>Coincidentally, Ronaldo is an avid combat sports fan and has attended marquee fights in MMA and boxing. <a href=\"https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/2025\/02\/01\/not-a-big-soccer-guy-dana-white-praises-cristiano-ronaldo-after-watching-ufc-saudi-arabia-with-superstar\/\">Ronaldo was most recently cageside with UFC CEO Dana White<\/a> for the UFC Saudi Arabia fight night event.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><svg width=\"20\" height=\"20\"><use href=\"http:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/#list-arrow-svg\" \/><\/svg><strong>READ MORE:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/2025\/02\/25\/ufc-legend-jose-aldo-added-to-ufc-315-card-against-georges-st-pierre-teammate\/\">UFC legend Jose Aldo added to UFC 315 card against Georges St-Pierre teammate<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Football Manel Kape\u2019s performance at UFC Vegas 102 could secure Alexandre Pantoja rematch<\/h2>\n<p>Kape\u2019s upcoming matchup with Almabayev comes at a time when the UFC flyweight division needs new potential title challengers. <a href=\"https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/2024\/12\/08\/alexandre-pantoja-vs-kai-asakura-result-flyweight-title-decided-as-challenger-is-choked-out-in-ufc-310-main-event\/\">Pantoja, who defeated Asakura<\/a> in his most recent flyweight title defense at UFC 310, is rumored to face <a href=\"http:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/tag\/kai-kara-france\">Kai Kara-France<\/a> later this year.<\/p>\n<p>But as of this writing, nothing has been made official regarding the Pantoja vs. Kara-France fight. Kape has the opportunity to potentially skip the line and secure a rematch with Pantoja with an impressive victory.<\/p>\n<p>After knocking out Osbourne, Kape amassed a four-fight winning streak before a lopsided defeat to <a href=\"http:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/tag\/muhammad-mokaev\">Muhammad Mokaev<\/a> at UFC 304. His knockout win over Silva put him right back into the title mix, as he pleaded for a title shot during a post-fight face-to-face with White.<\/p>\n<p>If Kape earns another knockout win this weekend, don\u2019t be surprised if he drops another Ronaldo-inspired celebration. <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><svg width=\"20\" height=\"20\"><use href=\"http:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/#list-arrow-svg\" \/><\/svg><strong>READ MORE:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/2025\/02\/25\/justin-gaethje-breaks-silence-on-ufc-313-as-dan-hooker-declares-he-would-still-fight-with-gruesome-injury\/\">Justin Gaethje breaks silence on UFC 313 as Dan Hooker declares he \u2018would still fight\u2019 with gruesome injury<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Manel Kape vs Bruno Silva | FULL FIGHT | UFC Vegas 103\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HHIyb06r_No?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/2025\/02\/25\/manel-kape-earned-his-first-ufc-win-with-a-devastating-flying-knee-before-hitting-cristiano-ronaldos-iconic-celebration\/\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a> Curtis Calhoun<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Manel Kape\u2019s first UFC win ended with a nod to one of the most popular athletes on Earth; footballer Cristiano Ronaldo. UFC flyweight Manel Kape has an impressive highlight reel during his eight-fight promotional stint. The former Rizin bantamweight champion is a matchup nightmare on the feet, as evidenced by his most recent performance at<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":829816,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28087,3790,138758],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-829815","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-earned","8":"category-football","9":"category-manel"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=829815"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829815\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/829816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=829815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=829815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=829815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}