Manel Kape and Bruno Silva meet Saturday on the UFC on ESPN 63 main card at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.
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Manel Kape vs. Bruno Silva UFC on ESPN 63 preview
Kape (19-7 MMA, 4-3 UFC) will look to rebound from a July loss to Muhammad Mokaev at UFC 304. Although Kape doesn’t acknowledge the result as a loss, he officially had a four-fight winning streak come to an end. His last win in the run was a Fight of the Night unanimous decision over Felipe dos Santos at UFC 293. … Silva (14-5-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) is in the position Kape was before July, as he enters on a four-fight winning streak. It’s an impressive streak with all stoppage results: JP Buys, Victor Rodriguez, Tyson Nam and Cody Durden were all stopped by the second round or earlier.
Manel Kape vs. Bruno Silva UFC on ESPN 63 expert pick, prediction
Filling out the main card in Tampa is a meaningful flyweight affair between Kape and Silva.
Whether it be frustrating fights or frustrating trips to the scale, Kape’s UFC career has not gone the way anticipated, thus far. Silva, on the other hand, has been able to rebound wonderfully from a rough start to his UFC career, currently riding a four-fight finishing streak.
However, despite divisional stakes giving us all the more reason to get excited about this fight, I fear that, stylistically, we could be in for a bit of a staring contest due to both men’s propensity to counter.
For that reason, I find it difficult to be confident in forecasting an outcome.
I’ll semi-reluctantly side with Kape to narrowly edge out the judge’s scorecards with his more eye-catching offense.
Manel Kape vs. Bruno Silva UFC on ESPN 63 odds
The oddsmakers and the public are favoring the younger fighter, listing Kape -355 and Silva +270 via FanDuel.
Manel Kape vs. Bruno Silva UFC on ESPN 63 start time, how to watch
Kape and Silva are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 11:40 a.m. ET. The fight will stream on ESPN+.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 63.
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