Before Manel Kape was one of the top contenders in the UFC flyweight division, he was a RIZIN champion and one of the faces of the Japan-based promotion.
Kape won his title in a 2019 rematch against vaunted striker Kai Asakura after falling to him by split decision just a year and a half prior, as both fighters established themselves among the best lighter-weight talents in the world. Now Asakura has joined Kape on the UFC roster, inking a deal to join the promotion following an impressive 21-4 record to start a career that includes wins over former Bellator champions Juan Archuleta and Kyoji Horiguchi.
“He’s going to do great,” Kape said of Asakura when speaking to MMA Fighting. “I think he’s just going to bring more excitement to this division, what this division needs, a young prospect. He’s a brilliant fighter.”
Because they split a pair of RIZIN fights, Kape likes knowing Asakura is coming to UFC, because that could potentially set up a rubber match between them in the future.
Perhaps even more importantly, Kape believes it would be a great opportunity for UFC to finally return to Japan, where he and Asakura were both sizable draws for RIZIN.
It’s been almost seven years since UFC last traveled to Japan, but Kape promises putting him against Asakura at the top of a card would serve as the perfect way to pack an arena.
“Me and him, we have a big fan base in Japan,” Kape said. “Definitely, this is an opportunity for the UFC to bring back the UFC to Japan. We can put more than 50,000 people in Saitama Arena, like we did before, like I did in the main event against him when I became a champion in 2020. We put like 44,000 or 45,000 people [in there]. It’s good to take this advantage.
“Of course, I support this type of big fight in Japan. Just a good addition to this division. We needed fighters like Asakura, like Manel Kape, like [Muhammad] Mokaev.”
As much as Kape would like to eventually conclude his rivalry with Asakura now that they’re both UFC fighters, he can’t concern himself with that right now.
At UFC 304, Kape competes in a potential No. 1 contender fight against undefeated flyweight Muhammad Mokaev, with the winner likely moving on to face reigning champion Alexandre Pantoja.
That’s Kape wants to think about right now, but assuming he wins on Saturday and then dethrones Pantoja later this year, he welcomes the chance to run it back with Asakura in 2025.
“It’s going to be a great story … next year,” Kape said. “My goal right now is beat Mokaev and then fight for the title end of the year. Then next year we’ll talk UFC Japan.”
