Joshua Van accepted an offer to fight Manel Kape. Yet, somehow, he ended up getting matched up with Tatsuro Taira for his first UFC title defense.
Van, UFC flyweight champion, eagerly awaited his return to the cage after capturinng the belt in just 26 seconds in a freak accident at UFC 323 in December. From the looks of it, it seemed like the promotion was trying to get Van booked against Manel Kape. Two offers came his way, he accepted both, but neither materialized.
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“When I was in Cali, they called me on short notice because Kayla (Harrison) vs. Amanda Nunes fell off,” Van said on Paramount’s UFC Fight Night 267 post-fight show. “They offered me two weeks notice and I immediately said yes. I guess they called Manel and he said he can’t, so I said, Ok, cool.’ He called me out for March 7 and Mick (Maynard) and my managers said, ‘Who you want: Manel or Taira for March 7?’ I said Manel, and I said yes on my part, and I don’t know what happened. A couple ofdays later, they said Taira.”
This past Saturday, the UFC announced that Van would defend his belt against Taira at UFC 327 on April 11 in Miami. On top of expecting Kape to be next, Van also wanted Kape. He believes it would’ve been a more entertaining matchup than Taira.
“That’s what I thought, too,” Van said when Alan Jouban told him Kape was the better matchup. “We were going off on Twitter. I said yes, and I guess something happened on his part. The UFC said Taira.”
Van expects a tough fight against the Japanese fighter. He is very clear though on where his advantages and disadvantages lie.
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“He’s well-rounded,” Van said. “We all know that I’m a better striker and he’s a better grappler.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Joshua Van explains why he expected Manel Kape for first title defense
