LAS VEGAS – Matheus Nicolau beat Manel Kape with a split decision Saturday on the main card at UFC Fight Night 187 in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Nicolau, who won for the third straight time and sixth time in his past seven fights.
Nicolau on the fight’s key moment
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 13: (R-L) Matheus Nicolau of Brazil kicks Manel Kape of Angola in a flyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on March 13, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
“I think I did enough to win the fight. The first round was mine. The second was his for sure. But in the third round, I think I got him with the better punches, the cleaner punches. Even if he had a more aggressive pace, I got him with the clean punches. I think I had done enough to win the fight.”
Nicolau on getting back to the UFC
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 13: (R-L) Manel Kape of Angola punches Matheus Nicolau of Brazil in a flyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on March 13, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
“The journey to be here was rough. I’ve been going through a lot. I went through a lot in those couple of years that I was out of the UFC. Especially in this training camp, I went through a lot. I was about to fight Tagir Ulanbekov. He is a completely different fighter, with all different characteristics. The opponent just changed like two weeks ago, so we had to change all the strategy for this fight. Of course I wanted to win by knockout or submission, but it’s good to have a tough fight like that. I think I proved to everybody and even to myself how much of a warrior I am, how much I want this, how much I work hard. I put everything inside the octagon and I think I did enough to get the victory.”
Nicolau on what he wants next
“I think I fit in at the top. Before I left the UFC, I was in the top 15. In my first flyweight fight, I fought with (John) Moraga. Back in the day, he was No. 6 – he had already fought for the title. I always had tough challenges here and I always got good victories. I hope with this win, I will be back on the rankings, in the Top 15, and I want my next opponent to be a ranked guy, because my focus is pretty clear here: I want to climb the mountain all the way to the top and get the shot.”
To hear more from Nicolau, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.