UFC flyweight compares himself to Cristiano Ronaldo in push for Joshua Van title shot

It seems unlikely that Van will run it back with Pantoja immediately. The Brazilian has a serious arm injury to recover from and will need time off before returning.

After the title fight, attention turned quickly to what is next for the division. While Tatsuro Taira has been mentioned as a possible challenger, Kape made it clear he believes he has earned the shot instead.

Dana White has hinted at a return to Japan for an upcoming event, with Taira seen as a natural fit for that market. But Kape pushed back on that idea in his post-fight comments, saying he is actually the bigger draw there.

‘Starboy’ said to ESPN MMA: “You want to go to Japan, you want to go to new markets? Okay, I’m the king there. Tatsuro Taira is Japanese but he’s a nobody there, nobody knows him. (Kyoji) Horiguchi is not a big star there (either).

“I’m a big star there… Just go there and put 100 people in a line and you’ll see who the Japanese fans would choose to take a picture with… They’re going to choose me… I’m a legend there. I’m a star, people ask me to put my hand on the belly of pregnant women so that they birth a Samurai.”

Kape did not stop at just calling himself popular in Japan. He took it further by comparing his fame back home in Portugal next to only one name: Cristiano Ronaldo

“In Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo is the biggest thing, the second there is Manel.”

Kape believes Van is ‘already scared’

Van has not responded to Kape’s victory yet, but the Portuguese fighter has already said he thinks the champion is intimidated by the idea of facing him.

“He’s scared already. Till I take that gold, I’ll eat, sleep, and think about him every day. And he’s gonna sleep and dream about me. I’m gonna be the worst nightmare he’s ever had in his life,” the Portuguese stated.