What comes to mind when we think about Israel Adesanya’s bitter rivalries? Surely, it’s the ‘Last Stylebender’s feud with Paulo Costa or the iconic rivalry against Alex Pereira. However, out of the Nigerian-Kiwi’s long list of grudges, one stands out as genuinely unusual, as he has an ongoing rivalry with a UFC star who weighs nearly 60 lbs less than him. And despite that massive size gap, the animosity is still alive, with both men going back and forth. Any guesses?

It’s none other than flyweight contender Manel Kape. For quite some time now, the Portuguese powerhouse has been on a collision course with Israel Adesanya. Why? It all started during UFC 293, when the former champ jumped into a verbal confrontation between Kape and his teammate Kai Kara-France, creating chaos at the pre-fight presser. Since that bizarre moment, a bitter feud developed between the fighters as their relationship quickly soured and extended to the UFC Tampa callout. Now, it has reached another level, as ‘Starboy’ believes he would even beat ‘The Last Stylebender’ in a fight, prompting a savage response from Adesanya.

Israel Adesanya and Manel Kape’s verbal clash intensifies as ex-champ responds to a bold claim

“A very competitive fight,” Kape said when JaidenCablee asked him how a fight against Israel Adesanya would go. That answer clearly wasn’t convincing enough for the interviewer, who pressed him again on the matchup. Once more, Kape fired back with even more intensity, saying, “Why you say really? Of course, I’m black belt in Jiu-Jitsu.”

A fight between the former 185-lb kingpin and Kape would be a classic David vs. Goliath situation, where the Portuguese contender would have to move a literal mountain to win. That’s how pronounced the size difference would be if the two UFC stars ever stood face-to-face, something Adesanya knows very well. So how did the Lagos native respond to the 125er’s bold claim? With a meme, of course.

Popular MMA social media account Dovy Simu MMA posted Adesanya’s response on X, where the two-time middleweight champion reacted to Kape’s interview using a scene from a Marvel Avengers movie. The clip showed Hulk smashing Loki repeatedly, a not-so-subtle message for how Adesanya believes he’d handle the flyweight contender inside the cage. Pretty burning response.

Now, as both UFC stars are feuding again, the flyweight contender revealed that Adesanya had reached out with an apology. But he turned it down, keeping the rivalry alive, and it’s still going on right now. While this fight is far from becoming reality, Israel Adesanya was actually very close to returning last year against an opponent who seemed like a very intriguing option for his comeback.

After losing three fights in a row, ‘The Last Stylebender’ will return at the Seattle Fight Night event, facing a dangerous Joe Pyfer in the main event. Fans are definitely loving the classic legend vs surging contender vibes this fight is radiating. However, would you believe that the former champ had a completely different plan before this fight?

‘The Last Stylebender’ would’ve fought a very different opponent

To make a stellar comeback, many believed that Adesanya would actually fight Reinier de Ridder, who already has a presence in the division. And with a surprising revelation, the Nigerian native revealed that he was planning to face the Dutchman last year in a short-notice fight. But an injury prevented the match from happening.

“That moment got taken away from me but that’s, in hindsight, the best thing even though I wasn’t happy with it then. I was going to fight last year but then I got injured in the gym and then that opportunity got taken away. It was a short notice fight as well and I’ve never done one of those so that would have been exciting.”

Honestly, a fight against Pyfer is definitely exciting. However, Adesanya vs. De Ridder would’ve been an absolute spectacle, with two contrasting fighting styles colliding. Regardless, as the Kiwi looks forward to getting a victory in Seattle on March 28th, the UFC might actually entertain that fight after that. Who knows?

That said, what do you think about Israel Adesanya’s comeback? Is the hype for the middleweight legend still alive? Let us know in the comments section below.