“After this fight [with Imavov] I’m just like, ‘You know what? I’m not expecting anything. I’m not expecting to be the champion again.’” said Israel Adesanya as he took a candid approach to discussing what the future holds for him after his last major defeat. If being on a three-fight losing streak wasn’t enough, losing the fight against Nassourdine Imavov ensured that the 35-year-old would also fail to secure a win in his first non-title fight since 2019. A former two-time UFC Middleweight Champion who also reportedly ranks #4 in the UFC middleweight rankings, Adesanya’s fall from grace would be uniting his fans in sympathizing with him. As it turned out, recent events have also allowed former rivals to put their enmity aside for a brief period.

Manel Kape recently appeared for an interview on former UFC fighter Demetrious Johnson’s show. Surprisingly, Kape sympathized with Adesanya’s current predicament! He even said, “I’m sad about Izzy’s last fight. I’m really sad. We have the beef but he’s a legend, you know”. Providing his perspective on what happened, he added “He was beating [Imavov], he was winning the fight, and I was sad, because you see a legend like him falling down that way, it’s pretty sad. I never wish anything for any man. Stepping in the cage and have the results he had, it’s pretty sad.”

UFC fans may not have carried too many expectations during the fight in Saudi Arabia more than 3 weeks ago. After all, before the matchup against Nassourdine Imavov, Israel Adesanya was coming off two consecutive losses to Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland. If people thought that things couldn’t get worse, then the veteran getting knocked out 30 seconds into Round 2 certainly proved that belief wrong. As highlighted by NewstalkZB, the loss to Imavov caused several fans and pundits to suggest that Adesanya should hang up his gloves, and call an end to a career that, for the most part, has been nothing short of successful.

Therefore, amid this criticism, it is nice to know that the 35-year-old Nigerian has support even from his biggest rivals. Or, does he? After all, if social media users are to be believed, then not everyone is of the same mindset that Kape’s feelings are genuine.

How did social media users react to Manel Kape’s comments about Israel Adesanya?

One social media user wrote “guy is just trolling izzy”, accompanied by a few crying emojis. After all, given the history the two fighters share, not everyone would be convinced that Manel Kape does not have even a tinge of alleged sarcasm in his remarks.

For those who may not be too well acquainted with what happened, the reported beef between Manel Kape and Israel Adesanya first began back in September 2023. Manel Kape was originally set to face Adesanya’s teammate Kai Kara-France, but the latter withdrew three weeks before the fight. This decision was taken after the fighter sustained a concussion during fight camp. During the memorable UFC 293 press conference, Kara-France was in the audience, supporting Adesanya. Kape, who was sitting not too far away from Adesanya, went on to berate Kara-France by saying “There’s a f*cking b*tch in front of me and you are f*cking guilty because Sunday this is going to be a murder because of you, you f*cking p*ssy”.

After Kape threw a bottle, Adesanya got up and said “Sit down, sit down. Have some f*cking respect”. Who knew things would get so heated up and entertaining even before the fight? Though several months have passed since the incident, feuds are not so easily forgotten

One individual highlighted his belief that things did not certainly look to be how they are portrayed. He did so by writing “Bro ain’t slick we all know he’s trying he’s hardest not to laugh”.

Even if Israel Adesanya wanted to close up the beef, Kape wasn’t giving him many chances to reconcile. Back in December 2024, Adesanya revealed that he was impressed after watching UFC Tampa, which featured Kape winning over Bruno “Bulldog” Silva. After the fight, the Angolan-born fighter surprised the Nigerian by saying “F–k Kai Kara France, F–k [Brandon] Moreno. F–k [Israel] Adesanya.” Adesanya later reacted to this by saying “I still keep it real, he f*cking showed out. This shows I’ve been in his head this whole time, I didn’t think it was like that. But he did well, good job.”

One social media user reacted by writing “Bro smirking the entire time (laughing emoji)”. When the sympathetic words are all correct, but they are given out with a smile, one would certainly be suspicious. Then again, human emotion can sometimes be subject to interpretation. While Manel Kape would have many fans, not everyone would take out time to address the fighter’s expressions.

One individual wrote, “Mabel Kape destroyed Izzy in that press conference and he has never been the same”. Surprisingly, that remark holds some truth to it. After all, for a two-time middleweight champion, with 12 consecutive title fights, to lose by a face crank submission through Dricus du Plessis was nothing short of astonishing. Add it to the recent loss, and one wonders what happened to Adesanya.

One individual poked fun at the 31-year-old by writing “Most calm I’ve ever heard kape”. Then again, it was a sit-down interview and not a press conference.

Overall, the majority of reactions saw social media users being united in questioning Mabel Kape’s motives. Sarcasm or not, his remarks still won’t help Israel Adesanya become more motivated. Whether the fortune will turn around for the fighter is something that remains to be seen.