UFC 293: Manel Kape vs Felipe dos Santos 09/09/2023 Fight Prediction, Picks and Preview

UFC 293: Kape vs dos Santos 09/09/2023 – Flyweight fighters Manel Kape and Felipe dos Santos square off in a three-round clash on Saturday, September 9, at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia. The match is a part of the UFC 293 main card, which ESPN+ (US) and TNT Sports (UK) will broadcast live at 10:00 PM ET. The fight is also streamed live via UFC Fight Pass. Dos Santos makes his debut in the octagon and stakes his unbeaten record against Kape, who is looking for his fourth straight win. Initial UFC betting lines give Kape an overwhelming edge against his Brazilian foe due to his experience in the UFC. But do not take the young Dos Santos for granted as he has proven in previous fights that he is capable of mixing it up with the big boys.

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Main Card

Manel Kape

Kape (18-6, 3-2 UFC) has spent most of his career with Rizin, Cage Fighters and Knock Out Championship before coming to the UFC. He fought current UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja in his promotional debut but he lost via unanimous decision in February 2021. He would fight again five weeks later and succumbed to a split decision defeat against Matheus Nicolau. Those losses likely served as a motivation for him to do his best in every fight as he strung up three straight wins. He first knocked out Ode Osbourne in the first round then stopped Zhalgas Zhumagulov in just 242 seconds. He struck his third straight win when he decisioned David Dvorak in December last year. Almost nine months after his victory over Dvorak, Kape makes his return and aims to secure his fourth consecutive win and improve his No10 ranking in the 125-pound class.

Stats wise, Kape has stopped 16 of his opponents, with 11 coming by way of knockout and five by submissions. He tapped out twice and lost via decision four times. The southpaw has landed an average of 4.46 significant strikes per minute and has an accuracy rate of 52%. He has evaded 54% of the strikes attempted by his rivals and absorbed 3.92 significant strikes per minute. In terms of grappling, Kape has successfully executed 0.56 takedowns per 15 minutes and his accuracy is 28%. Kape has defended 69% of the takedown attempts and his average submission attempts per 15 minutes is 0.6.

Felipe dos Santos

Dos Santos (7-0, 1 NC) will make his much awaited debut in the UFC after having stints with various fighting promotions, including Shooto Brazil, Standout Fighting Tournament, Brazilian Fighting Series and Legacy Fighting Alliance. After winning his first four fights, dos Santos fought to a no contest with Davi De Souza Almeida due to an accidental groin kick. In his sixth fight, dos Santos submitted Marcos Degli in three rounds. His last two fights ended by decision as he outclassed Rafael Montouro Ribeiro and won via split decision. He secured his seventh win with a win over Hugo Paiva by unanimous decision. The 22-year-old’s scheduled appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series got canceled in favor of the UFC.

Dos Santos has five finishes in seven of his wins. Two of his victories ended by knockout and three were by submissions. The Brazilian also has two decision wins on his belt. He trains with Chute Boxe in Brazil, the home of former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira. Experts view the young fighter as having a lean, quick, and strong presence when on his back. The man known as “Lipe Detona” comes into the fight with a two-inch height advantage which he could maximize in fighting Kape from a far.