
Manel Kape picks Kai Kara-France to beat 'too reckless, too sloppy' Alexandre Pantoja
Alexandre Pantoja (29-5 MMA, 13-3 UFC) defends his flyweight title against Kai Kara-France (25-11 MMA, 8-4 UFC) in Saturday's co-main event (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Pantoja has looked nearly unstoppable at 125 pounds, having already notched three title defenses over Brandon Royval, Steve Erceg, and most recently a submission of Kai Asakura at UFC 310. But with Kara-France's power, and Pantoja's walk-forward style, Kape (21-7 MMA, 7-3 UFC) thinks the Brazilian will find himself in trouble.
"Honestly, I see a potential win from Kai Kara-France," Kape told Inside Fighting. "I'm not going to lie. Pantoja is a great fighter, he's a great champion. I just see his game is getting too reckless, too sloppy, and I see the game of Kai Kara-France more composed. He has some power in his right hand.
"I'm not saying he can knock down Pantoja. He has that power, but Pantoja is tough. But, I don't believe Pantoja takes him down, too. Kai Kara-France has been facing better grapplers than Pantoja like (Rogerio) Bontorin, Askar Askarov. So, that's my point. Unfortunately, my odds go to Kai Kara-France. That's my read on the fight."
Kape, who's coming off a TKO of Asu Almabayev in the UFC Fight Night 253 headliner in March, has been eager to settle things with Kara-France after the pair have been beefing for almost two years now. Their back-and-forth stems from Kara-France withdrawing from their UFC 293 matchup, and Kape thinks their fight could finally be rebooked after UFC 317.
"After this fight, we can run back me and Kai Kara-France," Kape said. "He's been saying a couple of things in interviews. He's getting that confidence because I'm not close to him."
Kape was scheduled to compete at UFC 317 against Brandon Royval, but was replaced by Joshua Van after breaking his foot.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


USA Today
24 minutes ago
- USA Today
First image of Christian Gonzalez facing Stefon Diggs at Patriots camp
The New England Patriots showed off the first image of All-Pro cornerback Christian Gonzalez lining up against four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs in a social media post on Thursday. Gonzalez admitted earlier in the week that he was excited to match up against Diggs in practice. Iron sharpens iron, as the saying goes. Gonzalez is on the rise as one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL, and Diggs is looking to climb back into the elite tier of wide receivers, following an ACL injury last October. Before the injury, Diggs was coming off six straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons. There's hope that he can get back to that same level in New England. One way for Diggs to test himself is frequent head-to-head matchups against one of the top corners in the game. Gonzalez recently made ESPN's top-10 cornerbacks list, which polled votes from executives, coaches and NFL scouts around the league. The former Oregon standout landed at No. 6 in the rankings with one NFL assistant comparing him to the No. 1 player on the list, Denver Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II. "I think Gonzo is the next great one," a veteran NFL assistant said, via ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. "Skills, patience, length. He's the closest thing to Pat [Surtain II]. Smooth, big athlete, travels a lot, can matchup against the best guy." Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.


Tom's Guide
24 minutes ago
- Tom's Guide
ESPN's rumored NFL upgrade might make its $30 streaming service worth subscribing
As you may already know, ESPN will officially become a streaming service later this fall. The Worldwide Leader in Sports is going to offer all its linear cable networks and ESPN Plus for $30 a month. But based on a new rumor, this ESPN streaming service might be offering additional NFL content, and that might convince even me that a $30 subscription is a great value for cord-cutters. The Athletic reported on Wednesday (July 23) that ESPN and the NFL are "inside the 5-yard line" on a deal that would sell NFL Media to ESPN. If that deal gets done, it would — theoretically — give ESPN ownership of NFL Network and NFL RedZone. Sports fans — snag this streaming bundle to add both Disney Plus and Hulu to all the live sports ESPN Plus has to offer. That would be huge because, presumably, ESPN could then add these channels to the ESPN streaming service. Adding NFL RedZone on its own would be a massive coup for ESPN, and almost certainly drive subscriptions. Now, here's the catch: ESPN doesn't have to keep the streaming service at $30. So Disney, make NFL RedZone the Costco hot dog of the ESPN streaming service. Take a bit of a hit on it, but win in the long run. Because I guarantee you, if you offer every ESPN network and RedZone for $30, people will sign up. NFL RedZone is typically a $10 add-on, whether as part of your cable package or if you use one of the best live TV streaming services. It's often bundled with a few other networks, so it seems like you're getting value, but the truth is you're paying $10 for NFL RedZone. So, presumably, ESPN could just add RedZone and NFL Network and bump up the price of its streaming service by $10. Honestly, adding those two channels is probably worth $10 to a lot of people. But if ESPN wants this streaming service to succeed, and be part of a streaming service bundle that I think could dethrone Netflix and cable, then it needs to make RedZone a loss leader. To be honest, Disney already does to some extent this with Hulu and Disney Plus. Each streaming service on its own is $9.99 (with ads), but for a dollar more you can get the Disney Plus, Hulu Bundle Basic. That's clearly costing Disney profit on a per subscriber basis, but it's boosting the sheer volume of subscribers. So Disney, make NFL RedZone the Costco hot dog of the ESPN streaming service. Take a bit of a hit on it, but win in the long run. Because I guarantee you, if you offer every ESPN network and RedZone for $30, people will sign up. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button. Malcolm has been with Tom's Guide since 2022, and has been covering the latest in streaming shows and movies since 2023. He's not one to shy away from a hot take, including that "John Wick" is one of the four greatest films ever made. Here's what he's been watching lately:
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Did Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez make ESPN's top-10 CB rankings?
New England Patriots All-Pro cornerback Christian Gonzalez made the cut in ESPN's list of top 10 cornerbacks heading into the 2025 season. The rankings were compiled from 70 votes, including NFL executives, coaches and scouts. Gonzalez landed at No. 6 in this year's rankings. Pat Surtain II, Derek Stingley Jr., Denzel Ward, Trent McDuffie and Sauce Gardner were the players ranked ahead of him. It's great company to keep for a player who only has 20 games of NFL experience. Gonzalez will be looking to make a major statement this season after recording 59 tackles, 11 pass deflections and two interceptions in 2024. "I think Gonzo is the next great one," a veteran NFL assistant said, via ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. "Skills, patience, length. He's the closest thing to Pat [Surtain II]. Smooth, big athlete, travels a lot, can matchup against the best guy." The journey to being the "next great one" could begin as early as this season for Gonzalez. New England has made notable improvements at every level of the defense, including signing veteran cornerback Carlton Davis III to play opposite Gonzalez. This could be the best year yet from the former first-round draft pick. Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook. This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Did Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez make ESPN's top-10 CB rankings?