Nicolau vs Kape

Who won Nicolau vs Kape?

Matheus Nicolau beat Manel Kape by split decision in their 3 round contest during the main card of UFC Vegas 21, on Saturday 13th March 2021 at UFC APEX in Las Vegas.

The scorecards were announced in favor of the winner Matheus Nicolau.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Flyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 125 pounds (8.9 stone or 56.7 KG).

Nicolau vs Kape stats

Matheus Nicolau stepped into the octagon with a record of 15 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw, 4 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 5 by submission.

Manel Kape made his way to the cage with a record of 15 wins, 5 losses and 0 draws, 9 of those wins coming by knock out and 5 by submission.

This was Matheus Nicolau's 11th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2015. Manel Kape marked his 9th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2021.

Matheus Nicolau's UFC record stood at 7-4-0, while Manel Kape's came in at 6-3-0.

The stats suggested Kape had a massive power advantage over Nicolau, boasting a 60% knock out percentage over Nicolau's 27%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested that Nicolau and Kape would have been pretty equal, both with a 33% submission rate.

Matheus Nicolau was the older man by 1 year, at 32 years old.

Nicolau had a height advantage of 1 inch over Kape. Despite this, Kape had a 2-inch reach advantage.

Nicolau was arguably the less experienced fighter, having had 2 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2010, 1 year and 9 months earlier than Kape, whose first professional fight was in 2012. He had fought 9 less professional rounds, 55 to Kape's 64.

Nicolau vs Kape form

Kape had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going the distance twice.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Asu Almabaev at UFC Fight Night: Kape vs. Almabayev on 1st March 2025 by knockout in the 3rd round at UFC Apex, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had beaten Bruno Silva at UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Buckley on 14th December 2024 by knockout in the 3rd round at Amalie Arena, Tampa.

Going into that contest, he had lost to Muhammad Mokaev at UFC 304 – Manchester on 27th July 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Co-op Live Arena, Manchester, United Kingdom.

Before that, he had defeated Felipe dos Santos at UFC 293 on 9th September 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia.

He was victorious against David Dvorak at UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Strickland on 17th December 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC Apex, Las Vegas, United States.

Activity check

Kape's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 6 months and 10 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 6 months and 3 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 15 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Nicolau vs Kape?

Sorry, we couldn’t find any historical odds for Nicolau vs Kape.