Preview: UFC Fight Night 187 Main Card

Flyweights

NR | Manel Kape (15-5, 0-1 UFC) vs. NR | Matheus Nicolau Pereira (15-2-1, 3-1 UFC)

ODDS: Kape (-150), Pereira (+130)

Kape’s UFC debut did not go as expected. He came into the UFC as the Rizin Fighting Federation bantamweight champion, as “Starboy” capped off a three-fight winning streak—all via knockout—with a win over Kai Asakura on New Year’s Eve in 2019. Accordingly, the UFC did not waste any time throwing him into the flyweight contender mix. After some false starts due to injury, Kape was slated to make his debut against Alexandre Pantoja in February. While it was unclear whether or not Kape would win the bout, one thing was clear: His explosiveness and Pantoja’s aggression guaranteed the fight would result in fireworks. In practice, that was not the case. Kape had slowly been moving towards a counterpunching style in his last few fights, and when faced with a surprisingly measured Pantoja, he simply did not do much of anything, coasting to a slow-paced and unimpressive loss. It remains unclear if the Angolan standout simply expected Pantoja, who is usually a wildman, to offer more opportunities to get hit by a huge counter or whether this is just the type of fighter Kape is now. The end result? It was a disappointment in performance and outcome. At the very least, Kape is working quickly to get that fight out of everyone’s minds, as just five weeks later, he steps in for an injured Tagir Ulanbekov to take on a UFC returnee in Pereira.

Pereira’s unexpected 2018 release was one of the first signs that the UFC was planning to shutter the flyweight division. A graduate of the final season of “The Ultimate Fighter Brazil,” Pereira did not fight all that often during his first UFC stint but impressed greatly when he did. Initially, he got by more on the strength of his wrestling and grappling, but Pereira eventually developed a layered and effective counterstriking approach. After a surprising knockout loss to Dustin Ortiz, it was equally as shocking when the UFC dropped Pereira from its roster as one of the first victims of its flyweight purge. Now that Pereira has rebounded with two straight wins, the UFC has thankfully corrected its mistake and brought him back on board for a big opportunity.

For being a bit thrown together, this is a well-matched fight that should hopefully provide some more excitement than Kape’s last outing. Again, Pantoja simply did not give Kape much with which to work, and while Pereira is the type of counter-oriented fighter who could turn this fight into a standoff, he does tend to open up once he decides to throw. That will give Kape some opportunities to blast Pereira with some huge counters, one of which could end the fight. However, Pereira has also looked to be an intelligent fighter, and the obvious plan here is for the Brazilian to work his wrestling and grappling game. While Kape has improved as a takedown defender during his time in Rizin, that is still his clear weakness. Kape coming out and starching Pereira in short order would not be a surprise, but after his most recent performance, it feels like he is in much more of a prove-it spot than Pereira. The pick is for Pereira to lean on his wrestling and earn the decision.

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