UFC flyweight contender Manel Kape and his coach believe it was Muhammad Mokaev and his team's intention to start a brawl days out from their showdown in Manchester, England.
The pair of top 125lbers are set to do battle at UFC 304 this weekend, with their matchup marking one of the most important when it comes to direct implications to a divisional title picture.
And more than just their career ambitions, it would appear that both are being driven by some bad blood in this one.
That boiled over on Wednesday night at the fighter hotel, where the two fighters and their teams got into a brawl. Footage was posted by the @Home_of_Fight page on X and showed security personnel frantically attempting to pull the two sides apart.
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Spur-of-the-moment brawls are nothing new in the UFC, but that's not what one side of the scrap believes happened...
Kape & Nicksick Claim Hotel Fight Was A Set-Up
Following the incident, Kape took to social media to give his side of the story.
The former Rizin champion claimed Mokaev had respectfully asked to take a picture with him before attempting to sucker-punch him. "Starboy" berated his UFC 304 opponent for the "betrayal," insisting his actions weren't befitting of their shared religion and promising "carnage" from here on out.
Interestingly, Kape also made note of an altercation in Las Vegas, admitting to hitting Mokaev but doing so in a fairer way. The Angola-born Portuguese flyweight had previously denied rumors of a physical clash with "The Punisher" at the UFC's Performance Institute.
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"What kind of Muslim are you? You gave me Salam asked to take a picture and then tried to punch me in the betrayal, i can see now you are not a child of the (Dagestan), because there are created men you are just a poor bastard raised on a low income in Manchester without honor and principles," Kape wrote. "When I hit you in Vegas I went alone and I told you to be ready, I don't hit men with their guard down or distracted or on the back. I thought everything was solved, but now the carnage will continue... Shaytan!"
Kape's claim was quickly corroborated by his coach, Xtreme Couture's Eric Nicksick. The renowned trained told MMA Junkie that Mokaev had approached Kape under the guise of taking a photo with a "Muslim brother." Nicksick stated that Kape was then attacked by the opposition team.
The image posted by Kape showing a cut to Mokaev's head would appear to be from the aftermath of their Vegas clash, with the Dagestan-born Brit posting a clean-faced picture to refute suggestions he emerged damaged from their hotel fight.