Manel Kape is confident he has what it takes to dethrone UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van, predicting a one-sided fight if the two meet inside the Octagon.
Speaking with Daniel Cormier in an interview this week, Kape declared himself next in line for a shot at Van’s 125-pound title and insisted the champion would struggle to keep up with him on the feet.
“I know the power that I possess. I know the skill I possess,” Kape told Cormier. “When I say this fight is going to be too easy, it's going to be too easy. He's going to be very slow. The way he throws the punches is going to be slow to me.”
Kape went on to compare the potential matchup to one of the most memorable striking mismatches in UFC history, pointing to Anderson Silva’s dominant performance against Forrest Griffin.
“This fight is going to be like Anderson Silva against Forrest Griffin. I apologize: I love Forrest Griffin, but it's going to be like this. That's the fight I really see. That's the levels I see I'm above him,” Kape said.
Silva famously stopped Griffin at UFC 101 in August 2009, dropping the former light heavyweight champion with a counterpunch before Griffin left the Octagon.
Kape believes his recent performances have earned him the right to challenge for the flyweight championship. He has won four of his last five fights at 125 pounds, most recently scoring a knockout victory over former title contender Kyoji Horiguchi in June.
The Portuguese-Angolan fighter views that win as evidence of his ability to overcome the toughest competition in the division and believes Van would struggle against Horiguchi's style.
“Remember these words. We will find out. That's the way Van is to me. I just beat the most difficult fighter in our division,” Kape said.
“Kyoji is going to be there again. This guy is a different animal. You need to be very, very smart to fight this guy. You need to have knowledge. You need to have strategy to beat a karate guy like him.”
Kape then made an even bolder prediction about how a hypothetical matchup between Van and Horiguchi would unfold.
“If it was Van against Kyoji, Kyoji would put him to sleep in the first round. That's the way I see it. I know the levels of this game,” he added.
