UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van has claimed that Manel Kape lied about their UFC title fight falling through.
Right now, Joshua Van is on top of the world. He is the king of the flyweight division, and he is gearing up to defend the belt for the first time when he collides with Tatsuro Taira in his next outing. Of course, many felt as if Manel Kape would be the one who got the call, but it didn’t quite come to fruition.
RELATED: Manel Kape slams Joshua Van after champ accuses him of turning down short-notice UFC 324 bout
Instead, Kape will now face Kyoji Horiguchi in his next fight. Prior to that being announced, though, Van and Kape were going back and forth at one another on social media and in interviews, claiming that a fight between them didn’t get made for different reasons.
After Kape suggested that Van was the one who didn’t want the fight, the champ had the following to say in a recent interview.
Van goes back at Kape
“I like Manel, you know what I mean? He’s a good guy, it’s just that he just lied too much, so I just want to put it out there,” Van told MMA Junkie Radio. “I don’t hate no fighters or nothing. I like the guy, I respect him. He’s been in the game a long time, so I respect what he brings to the table, but in case of getting this fight and all this stuff he lied about, I just want to put it out there, that’s all.
“He tried to act like I’m the one that didn’t want the fight and this and that, you know what I mean? Even when they first offered and stuff like that. When they first offered it was two weeks, and then March 7 – I don’t know what happened with him because my manager hit me up and Mick (Maynard) for the March 7, I was the one saying, ‘Hey, let’s go.’ You know, it’s whatever.
“He tried to turn it around on me and this and that. It’s stupid, man. If you don’t want to fight, just say you need more time or something. I don’t like the fact that he’s going around and saying all these things on Twitter or whatever.”
Quotes via MMA Junkie
What do you make of this war of words? Let us know in the comments below, BJPENN Nation!