Van and Kape trade crude personal jabs as UFC flyweight title fight looms

UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van and ranked contender Manel Kape are locked in a sharp social media feud, with both fighters trading personal barbs that suggest a title fight between the two strikers is drawing closer.

Van retained his flyweight title for the second time at UFC 331 on 19 September, earning a unanimous decision over former champion Alexandre Pantoja in their rematch. With Kape considered a leading candidate for Van’s next title defence, the champion wasted little time in calling him out — and keeping it far from diplomatic.

“Yo fat f*ck,” Van wrote on X. “Start cutting now cuz u better make weight!! We don’t want another weight excuse. Let’s give the people what they want!!!”

Kape responded by casting himself in the role of a father figure — a recurring theme throughout the exchange — while also invoking Van’s most recent defeat, a loss to Charles Johnson.

“Finally came out of hiding, son?” Kape wrote. “They told me you weren’t sure about facing your dad, but I guess there’s nowhere left to run. I promised I’d change your diapers, & I always keep my word. By the way, the weight I’m putting on is just so I can put you to sleep even earlier than Charles Johnson did.”

Van fired back by mocking online speculation about Kape’s appearance. “Hiding??” he wrote. “I been here, like I always am. You just too busy shopping for bra, udk wht been goin on.”

Kape pressed on with the baby-themed taunts, insisting he was already preparing for the aftermath of a fight. “The only things I’ve been shopping for are diapers & your health insurance,” he replied. “Trust me, you’re gonna need both. And like a good father, I’m making sure everything’s taken care of in advance.”

Van closed the exchange by questioning Kape’s fixation on the diaper motif. “Wht with your obsession with diapers,” he wrote. “Make me wonder #tittyboi.”

No official bout agreement has been announced, but the intensity of the back-and-forth points to a matchup the UFC is likely to pursue. Van has now defended the flyweight title twice since claiming it, while Kape’s ranking and striking credentials make him a credible next challenger.