Controversial flyweight talent Manel Kape has had a history of homophobia and isn’t too afraid of sharing his colorful history with the subject. Kape, who returns to action next weekend in the main event at UFC Vegas 103, has claimed that he had once turned his back on Jiu-Jitsu and grappling, describing the practice as “gay“.
Initially scheduled to fight Brandon Royval in a grudge title eliminator, Kape will now share the octagon with the streaking Asu Almabayev. Never far from controversy, Kape also has a knack for pulling out of a slew of fights during his brief Octagon tenure. He had earlier grabbed the headlines for being involved in a fistfight with the now out-of-favor fighter Muhammad Mokaev at a hotel before UFC 304.
So, yet another controversy doesn’t come as a surprise.
Speaking with UFC veteran Demetrious Johnson, the former Rizin FF star claimed grappling was “bullsh*t” before launching into another homophobic tirade.
“I swear. I think this Jiu-Jitsu is bullsh*t, and I say, ‘This Jiu-Jitsu is gay, a very gay style. And he(training partner) tells me, ‘This is not gay, ‘ Kape confessed.
Elaborating further on the subject, he added, “And then we were in his room training and playing he says, ‘Okay, I’m gonna show you.’ And I said, let’s go with the hands, you go with your bullsh*t Jiu-Jitsu.”
Kape went on to explain how his training mate then showed off his grappling skills, much to his shock — which left him unable to escape from beneath him.
Interestingly, just days ago, Kape’s interviewer, Johnson himself, had made some rather objectionable remarks about his own siblings who are from the LGBTQ+ community, leading to some serious online criticism.
During the course of an interview, the former UFC and ONE champion had claimed that he had a lesbian sister and a gay brother. However, the way he joked about treating his brother involved a lot of casual homophobia.
“I have a sister who is a lesbian, my brother he likes men. It’s a hard subject…I keep it real tho. I tell my brother all the time, dog don’t be coming over here with that gay s**t.“, he said.
This is that weird kind of homophobia where people pretend they aren’t homophobic while constantly saying homophobic shit. https://t.co/Uqng6rAKnZ
— Jay Dasgupta (@DasguptaJay) February 21, 2025
The rise of hatred and bigotry against people from the LGBTQ+ community has been on the rise, especially within the MMA community. Marquee fighters like Sean Strickland have often indulged in and promoted bigotry against people of the community on a platform that the UFC has provided. Unfortunately, with CEO Dana White’s ‘free speech’ policy, intolerant remarks have also always gone unpunished.
It’s why Kape has also said the homophobic F-word slur during a post-fight press conference without facing any consequences.
UFC’s checkered history with homophobia
Yes. Kape has previously hurled a slew of slurs at opponents and opposition during his brief tenure in the Octagon.
Kape infamously grabbed the microphone from UFC caller Daniel Cormier in Australia following his win over Felipe dos Santos last September.
Engaged in a bitter feud with incoming title chaser, Kai Kara-France, Kape referred to the City Kickboxing star as a “fag**t” — as well as his teammates.
“I was supposed to fight Kai Kara[-France]. You motherf*cker you are hidden,” Kape shouted in the Octagon
“I’m going to fight you next and if you refuse again to fight me or pull two weeks out from the fight, I will go to your city,” he roared.
And in a final moment of perceived triumph, he added, “I’m going to your academy. I’m going to spar you there. I’m going to f*cking spar you there. Hey, hey, listen. No one is going to do anything. Do you know why? All your teammates are a bunch of fagg*ts.”
Kape’s comments, as well as Charles Radkte’s, would go unpunished, with the latter also referring to the crowd with a brutal homophobic slur at the same event. Radkte would later be escorted from the Octagon.
Following the event, White would defend Kape, claiming the Angolan just got a little “excited” while being interviewed by Cormier.
“You know me, we didn’t run over to [Kape] and say, ‘You better apologize.’ He did that on his own when he got backstage. He was embarrassed and got caught up in the moment.“, White told assembled media.
It’s been a while since this incident and at this point, it would be futile to imagine an improved response from the UFC.
