Manel Kape Takes Quick March 13th Turnaround UFC Fight Against Matheus Nicolau

Manel Kape has taken a short-notice fight against Matheus Nicolau at UFC’s March 13th event, per a statement made by the promotion on Wednesday. Kape will take the place of Tagir Ulanbekov, who has withdrawn from the fight due to undisclosed reasons.

The fight joins a “Fight Night” lineup that is set to happen at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

Kape takes a quick turnaround in the fight, as the former RIZIN Bantamweight Champion made his UFC debut just last month. Kape’s loss in February to Alexandre Pantoja disappointed some, as he lost on scorecards after not having much output throughout the fight.

The fight was Kape’s first since having a nine-fight run in RIZIN that culminated with a championship victory over Kai Asakura.

Nicolau has now received a new opponent for his return to the UFC. The 28-year-old Brazilian will be kicking off his second run within the promotion.

Nicolau was briefly part of the UFC roster from 2015 to 2018, competing four times after participating in the fourth season of “The Ultimate Fighter Brazil.”

The flyweight’s return to the UFC comes after two wins on the regional scene.

UFC’s March 13th card has welterweights Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad headlining the card. Here is the full lineup.

Bout 15: Leon Edwards (18-3) vs. Belal Muhammad (18-3) (Welterweight)

Bout 14: Jonathan Martinez (13-3) vs. Davey Grant (10-4) (Bantamweight)

Bout 13: Jason Witt (18-6) vs. Matthew Semelsberger (7-2) (Welterweight)

Bout 12: Jinh Yu Frey (9-6) vs. Gloria de Paula (5-2) (Strawweight)

Bout 11: Eryk Anders (13-5) vs. Darren Stewart (12-6) (Middleweight)

Bout 10: Zubaira Tukhugov (19-5-1) vs. Ricardo Ramos (14-3) (Featherweight)

Bout 9: Rani Yahya (26-10-1) vs. Ray Rodriguez (16-7) (Bantamweight)

Bout 8: Ben Rothwell (38-13) vs. Philipe Lins (14-5) (Heavyweight)

Bout 7: Don Madge (9-3-1) vs. Nasrat Haqparast (12-3) (Lightweight)

Bout 6: Misha Cirkunov (15-5) vs. Ryan Spann (18-6) (Light Heavyweight)

Bout 5: Dan Ige (14-3) vs. Gavin Tucker (13-1) (Featherweight)

Bout 4: Charles Jourdain (10-3-1) vs. Marcelo Rojo (16-6) (Featherweight)

Bout 3: Cortney Casey (9-8) vs. JJ Aldrich (8-4) (Flyweight)

Bout 2: Angela Hill (12-9) vs. Ashley Yoder (8-6) (Strawweight)

Bout 1: Matheus Nicolau (15-2-1) vs. Manel Kape (15-5) (Flyweight)