Manel Kape Record: 23-7-0

RIZIN champion

Kape turned those lessons into a title. He rebuilt with knockouts – a right-hook KO of veteran Takeya Mizugaki in 2019 among them – and capped the run on New Year's Eve 2019 by stopping Kai Asakura by second-round TKO to claim the RIZIN bantamweight championship, avenging his earlier loss and establishing himself as one of the best fighters outside the UFC.

Octagon arrival and rebuild

Kape signed with the UFC and dropped to flyweight, but his start was rocky. He lost his 2021 debut by unanimous decision to future champion Alexandre Pantoja, then dropped a split decision to Matheus Nicolau – an 0-2 hole that would have buried most prospects. Instead he flipped the script, blasting Ode Osbourne with a flying-knee knockout and stopping Zhalgas Zhumagulov inside a round, both in 2021. He kept building with decisions over David Dvořák and undefeated Felipe dos Santos.

Title contention

A 2024 decision loss to undefeated Muhammad Mokaev was a setback, but Kape answered with the best stretch of his UFC career. He stopped Bruno Silva with a body kick and punches late in 2024, then forced a third-round retirement against Asu Almabayev in early 2025. He capped the run in December 2025 with a first-round knockout of former title challenger Brandon Royval – a marquee win that pushed his record to 22-7 and cemented his place at the top of the flyweight contender pile.

Fighting style

Kape is one of the division's premier finishers. Of his 22 wins, 14 have come by knockout and five by submission for an 86% finish rate, a number that captures how rarely his fights reach the scorecards when he is in control. He fights with a boxer's hands and a kickboxer's variety, throwing flying knees, spinning attacks and counter rights with genuine fight-ending power, and his jiu-jitsu gives him finishing options on the mat. The trade-off is that his losses have almost all come the same way: every one of his defeats has gone to a decision or a submission, a sign that elite grappling-heavy opponents who survive his early pressure can drag him into deeper, more technical waters.

Career highlights

• RIZIN bantamweight champion — stopped Kai Asakura to claim the title in 2019, establishing himself as one of the best flyweights outside the UFC.
• Knockout of Brandon Royval — his first-round finish of a former title challenger in 2025 was a contender-defining statement at flyweight.
• 86% finish rate — 19 of his 22 wins by stoppage make him one of the most explosive finishers in the 125-pound division.