“I broke the cartilage of my rib” – Manel Kape breaks silence after pulling out of UFC Vegas 91 fight

Manel Kape, a UFC flyweight, was originally set to face Matheus Nicolau in the main event of UFC on ESPN 55 at the UFC Apex facility on April 27. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, Kape had to withdraw from the scheduled rematch.

Initially, he did not provide an explanation for his withdrawal, but Kape later took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to further explain the reasons for his decision to withdraw from the fight.

Kape revealed that he underwent surgery last week for a broken cartilage in his rib. He further claimed that the reason for each of his previous fight cancellations was due to his opponents. He expressed in his statement:

“This is the first time I’ve ever pull out of a fight, I broke the cartilage of my rib and I couldn’t move for a week. On Thursday last week my surgery went extremely well. Bare in mind that all my fights that got cancelled in the past was due to my opponents. Where I came from we used to fight for free, I’m not bragging about I’m just being honest so don’t ever think I’m like some of you guys. ALLAH IS THE GREAT [palms up together emoji] #notimeforbrokepeople #mytimeismoney”

Take a look at Manel Kape’s post down below:

The rematch between Kape and Nicolau was initially planned for UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2. However, the fight had to be cancelled when Kape weighed in at 129.5 pounds, exceeding the flyweight non-title fight limit by three and a half pounds.

Kai Kara-France shares his thoughts on Manel Kape’s withdrawal from UFC Vegas 91

No.8 ranked flyweight Alex Perez was selected as the replacement for Manel Kape in UFC Vegas 91.

Take a look at the Instagram post below:

The Instagram post sparked a response from Kai Kara-France, one of Kape’s biggest rivals. The fourth-ranked contender left a comment, taking a jab at Kape for not showing up to the fight. He simply wrote:

“lol”

Don’t forget to take a look at Kai Kara-France’s statement in the attached screenshot:

Kape and Kara-France were scheduled to face each other at UFC 293, but Kara-France had to withdraw due to a concussion sustained during training. At the press conference, Kape did not shy away from criticizing Kara-France for pulling out of the fight.

Take a look at Kape’s tirade aimed at Kara-France: