Alexandre Pantoja and Manel Kape are facing off on the main card of UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs Volkov. This should be an interesting fight to watch but it also may end up being very one-sided. Alexandre Pantoja is 22-5 in his career with a 6-3 record within his time in the UFC. Manel Kape is 15-4 in his career and he'll be making his UFC debut.
Alexandre Pantoja is a very well diverse fighter with a wide arsenal with his striking power and grappling. Alexandre Pantoja has been extremely hard to put away, having never been finished despite eating some bombs. Overall Pantoja is the 5th ranked flyweight for a reason with his quick recovery and with such a wide toolset that allows him to change game plans on the fly. Should this fight ever hit the canvas Pantoja will have the advantage as well as being able to end the fight not only with his strikes but with his submissions as well.
Manel Kape was the Flyweight champion in Rizin before taking this fight. Manel Kape has elite striking due to his speed and footwork. Manel Kape has had a very successful run in Rizin but he'll have to overcome the transition associated with fighting in a different league with that being in this case fighting in a cage instead of a ring, and no shoes. Kape's hooks have been extremely dangerous as he has been able to hurt people with both hands due to his ability to change stances.
Alexandre Pantoja has struggled to get the dub in some of his biggest fights going all the way to decision against Figueiredo but his heart and tenacity are undeniable as he has shown that he belongs. Manel Kape, while impressive and dangerous in his striking is relatively unproven with a ton of question marks in this fight and for his debut, he'll be fighting a guy who is battle proven and has shown that he can take a punch and can recover. Kape has only fought one fighter who has really established himself and in that fight ended up as a submission loss against Kyoji Horiguchi. Kape has to answer a ton of questions in this one and as the fight goes on his chances of winning will dwindle away. Kape will likely need the finish here to win but in the event he hurts Pantoja, Pantoja can really on his grappling to buy him time as well as to pursue a submission victory.
