Kai Kara-France out, Manel Kape now faces undefeated newcomer Felipe dos Santos at UFC 293
UFC 293 took a hit recently when no. 5 ranked flyweight contender Kai Kara-France (24-11) withdrew from his clash with no. 10 ranked Manel Kape (18-6) due to a concussion suffered in training camp.
Kape did however get a replacement, as he will now face Brazilian finisher Felipe dos Santos (7-0) at this event.
UFC 293 is to go down on September 10, 2023, live from the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.
Dos Santos, though is just 7-0 as a professional, has a few good wins under his belt already with victories over two 5-0 opponents, as well as opponents with records of 5-2 and 6-1. Of the 22-year-olds seven career wins, two come via knockout with three submissions.
Kape on the other hand, a former Rizin bantamweight champion, has fought five times thus far inside the octagon. Debuting with a record of 15-4, Kape would drop his first two contests to current flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja (UD) and no. 6 ranked Matheus Nicolau (SD).
Since then however he’s gone 3-0 across his latest three appearances with victories over Ode Osbourne (KO), former FNG flyweight champion Zhalgas Zhumagulov (TKO), and former GCF flyweight champion David Dvorak (UD).
Though it’s not Kape versus Kara-France, we’ll still be able to see Kape compete at UFC 293, and that’s very exciting considering he’s already had a whopping seven cancelled match ups since joining the promotion in 2020.
Israel Adesanya (24-2) will also be on the card defending his UFC middleweight championship against no. 5 ranked Sean Strickland (27-5) in the main event of the evening, and no. 6 ranked heavyweight contender Tai Tuivasa (14-5) will face off with no. 8 ranked former Bellator & M-1 Global heavyweight champion Alexander Volkov (36-10).
If you enjoyed this piece, feel free to share it on social media!
