Manel Cape is confident he can avenge his loss to Alexandre Pantoja if they fight again.
Pantoja (27-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) defeated Kape (19-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) by unanimous decision in February 2021, spoiling Kape's UFC debut.
Since then, Kape has gone 4-1 and was at the top of the title hunt, but was forced to withdraw for the second time in the headliner of UFC Fight Night 241 last Saturday against Mateusz Nicolau. was due to a rib injury.
“He's not on my level,” Cape said on “JAXXON PODCAST.” “Pantoja is not on my level, believe me. He can fight in any style. I have good chemistry with him.”
Cape cited the slippery canvas as the reason he lost to Pantoja in the first match.
“The thing is, it wasn’t a skill, but I was skating a lot in the cage,” Cape said. “If you watch the fight properly, I was paying more attention to my balance. I was sliding. It was like I was wearing skates, so I couldn't punch. If I slipped, I couldn't counter. There is no power to do, no power to return, no power to pull.
“You don't feel the grip. Look at the two fights I lost. … It's not like they're doing anything. They don't do anything. Of course they don't go in there and punch, they go back and pull. It was like sliding. It was very slippery.
Pantoja will defend his flyweight title against El Ceg (12-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) on Saturday in the main event of UFC 301 (pay-per-view/ESPN/ESPN+) at Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro.
For more information on the card, visit MMA Junkie's UFC 301 event hub.
The story originally appeared on MMA Junkie
