It seems not everyone seems to be impressed by the boxing skills that helped guide Ilia Topuria to two-division title glory within the UFC.
Topuria knocked out Alexander Volkanovski to achieve the throne at featherweight before defending it against Max Holloway. That was the story of the Spaniard’s temporary reign at 145 kilos.
At UFC 317, Topuria battled Charles Oliveira for the lightweight title, which Islam Makhachev vacated ahead of his welterweight move this 12 months.
As he had promised, Topuria knocked Oliveira out in a single round, once more displaying vicious and powerful boxing to render a foe unconscious.
‘El Matador’ has long been within the conversation as considered one of the UFC’s best boxers, and Saturday’s result only strengthened his claim to the highest spot within the eyes of many.
Not this man, nonetheless…
Manel Kape claims to be a greater boxer than Ilia Topuria
One man who doesn’t recognize Topuria because the UFC’s best boxer is flyweight contender Manel Kape.
In a now-deleted post on X prior to the UFC 317 fundamental event, Kape refused to count Oliveira out while dismissing those claiming Topuria’s boxing to be “elite.”
After that suggestion drew backlash from some fans – considered one of whom wrote, “Not an elite boxer is the wildest s— I’ve ever heard in my life” – the Angola-born Portuguese fighter doubled down.
“You may rank him (Topuria) as number 2 or 3, that’s fair. But in relation to #1, that’s me,” Kape wrote. “No comparison, I operate on a unique level about boxing for MMA & boxing. But this isn’t a conversation for fanatics, it’s one for many who truly understand the sport.”
Kape continued defending his stance in a follow-up post, claiming that no bias influenced his assessment.
“I’ll settle this debate about ‘the very best boxer within the UFC’ with my personal rating, no fanaticism, no favoritism, only a well-analyzed perspective.”
Manel Kape missed out on a giant opportunity on Ilia Topuria-headlined UFC 317 card
While the night on June 28 went to the likes of Topuria, Alexandre Pantoja, and Joshua Van, Kape was originally scheduled to have his own probability to make a mark.
Before Van was drafted in on short notice and sure earned his title shot in a Fight of the 12 months contender against Royval, ‘Starboy’ withdrew from his scheduled clash with ‘Raw Dawg’.
With that, Kape now has 11 canceled fight dates within the UFC, which is greater than he actually has bouts contained in the Octagon (9).
Those issues making it to the cage, each as a consequence of his and opponents’ withdrawals, have prevented Kape from having the ability to challenge for a UFC title. And he evidently has more work to do after Van jumped the road in emphatic fashion at UFC 317.