The next phenom of Chute Box enters the UFC this weekend in the form of Felipe Dos Santos. Better known by his nickname, “Lipe Detona,” the Brazilian brings with him an undefeated record of 7 wins and 0 losses. However, with such a resume he has earned himself a shot directly into the top echelon of the division when he takes on Manel Kape.
Kape, the former Rizin FF bantamweight champion, started his UFC journey in 2021. Two close-fought decision losses later, and the Angolan found his footing in the promotion, dispatching Ode Osbourne, Zhalgas Zhumagulov, and David Dvorak in dominant fashion. On top of his UFC wins, he has shared the octagon with some of the best in the world, including current UFC champion Alexandre Pantoja as well as Matheus Nicolau, Kai Sakura, Ian McCall, and Kyoto Horiguchi.
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Betting Odds
Lipe Detona will enter the UFC as an underdog opposite the budding contender.
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Fight Breakdown
Felips Dos Santos has garnered many comparisons to the more established students of Diego Lima, specifically Charles “Do Bronx” Oliveira, and it shows in his fights. Dos Santos has a similar Brazilian Muay Thai style that is built on aggression and variety of strikes, with a short, tall stance, high guard and forward movement. He has tremendous offensive boxing, knees and elbows but still seems unpolished in his defence at times. He is a very quick starter, rushing his opponents from the opening bell, with long stretching punches and jumping knees to close the gap.
However, while he is very effective at Muay Thai range, he does struggle inside the pocket due to an inability to defend combinations that mix between the body and head. His high guard often leaves him exposed to body punches if he finds himself stuck in the pocket, something that Manel Kape does a good job of going to when he has his opponents covering up. That being said, while Dos Santos will take damage in the pocket, that does not mean he is no longer dangerous, electing to eat a few shots in order to fire back with a crisp uppercut or left orthodox counter. Kape will need to be on edge with his head movement whenever he does throw to ensure a safe exit. For Dos Santos, he should look to enter with long combinations and then frame or angle off to avoid clashing into close range afterward. he has a beautiful entry combination where he switches stance for the southpaw lead hook to switch knee, but framing off is key once done.
Manel Kape is more efficient in terms of energy expenditure and accuracy. A consistent theme in his fights is his matching of the pace his opponents bring, the more dynamic they make the fight the more dynamically and dramatically he responds. Dos Santos looks to cause a car crash, banking on the fact that he is willing to walk further into the fire, but with this he will also make Kape work to his highest potential. Kape, is a counterfighter, and he uses his jab and feints to draw out reactions so that he can time his real work on their entries or counter behind the reactions. The work rate that Dos Santos depends on will offer a wealth of counter opportunities for Kape, so keep an eye on a big sniping shot when Kape gets his reads.
Kape has a really nice short left hook, he sneaks inside his combinations and as he cuts off the cage. he will feint and hit flying knees when his opponents bite as well. Both men are excellent strikers in their own ways, but Kape is more one-sided in this aspect. If one of them shoots it will probably be Dos Santos, but although the Brazilian has good timing on his double-leg takedowns, he has trouble maintaining control on the mat. He often allows too much space looking for ground and pound and allows his opponents to get up so Kape will not worry too much about being stuck on his back. If he does find himself on his back, Kape does a good job of establishing a Kimura grip and if not finishing the submission, using it to sweep or stand up. If he does reverse position on Dos Santos, Lipe Detona has an aggressive guard game, working for triangles immediately, and looking for sharp elbows to open his opponents up if he cannot get leg mobility. Expect Kape to earn positions if he can but invite Dos Santos back to the feet at some point if he finds the top control isn’t worth the risk of Dos Santos’ submission game.
Prediction
This is a very good fight for Manel Kape. He does have to mind his Ps and Qs, as the scrappiness of Dos Santos means he is always dangerous and the activity is something to contend with on the scorecards.
However, the lack of caution on Dos Santos’ side also leaves him very open to being set up and countered, especially to the body and in the pocket. I see a closely contested fight, but meanwhile Kape making reads and setting up big shots that make the biggest difference in the fight.
Pick: Manel Kape to win (-350 on BetUS)
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