Manel Kape is a top contender in the UFC flyweight division and a former RIZIN FF bantamweight world champion, but he had some reservations about Jiu-Jitsu before his MMA career began. Kape initially began his combat sports career as a boxer and had several boxing matches before making the jump to MMA, and he wasn’t thrilled about the idea of grappling at the time. Like many strikers before him, he began with the impression that he would be able to rely on knocking his opponents out without having to go to the ground. Obviously that doesn’t quite work and even the best strikers in the world have to learn how to stay safe on the ground and even win grappling exchanges.
Kape shared his initial thoughts on Jiu-Jitsu in a recent interview with fellow flyweight veteran Demetrious Johnson:
“I give you two punch and that’s it, you know? Because I know how to punch, I think this Jiu-Jitsu is bulls**t… I swear, I think this is bullshit and I would say like ‘this is very gay’…”
He went on to explain that it was actually a friendly sparring match with a friend of his that changed the way he looked at the sport. Manel Kape was confident that his boxing was going to beat his friend’s Jiu-Jitsu, but things didn’t go quite as well as he had planned:
“I’m going with the hands, you go with your bulls**t Jiu-Jitsu. It was a very small room… We were fighting and he give me a takedown. He give me a takedown and I couldn’t move. He did the armbar and then I became fascinated with this.“
The rest is history of course and by the time that Kape turned 16 he was preparing for his first professional MMA fight as a much more well-rounded competitor. He has put together an impressive record in the years since then and although he is still known as a fantastic striker, his Jiu-Jitsu has come in handy too. Kape now holds a 21-7 professional record with 5 submission wins, and he’s ranked at number six in the UFC flyweight division. He has plenty of time left in his career and as he’s riding a two-fight winning streak, Kape is only about a fight or two away from testing his skills against the champion.
The full interview with Manel Kape where he shares his first reaction to Jiu-Jitsu was uploaded to the official YouTube channel of Demetrious Johnson:
