Tampa – UFC flyweight Bruno Silva sees Manel Kape as his ticket to the title after they fight at UFC Tampa on Saturday night.
“(I’m on a ) four-fight win streak nobody has that on the flyweight division. Manel Kape’s a big name, number 9, that’s what I’m thinking,” Silva told reporters on Wednesday.
“I can be next.”
Silva (14-5-2) sees a spectacular finish of Kape will push him ahead of guys like Brandon Royval, Steve Erceg and Brandon Moreno for a shot at Alexandre Pantoja’s title.
“Exactly. 5 performance of the night (bonus) in a row. (I) can be the next. Exact way that Kai Asakura come from RIZIN and fight for the title, Manel Kape was the RIZIN champ, he was probably next for the title,” Silva said.
“He lost to (Muhammad) Mokaev, but now he got another chance. I believe after this fight the winner can be next.”
Silva has a case. Pantoja has beaten most of the big names at 125 outside of Kai Kara-France and Amir Albazi. Silva comes in at #12, but it’s possible he can cut the line with a finish of Kape.
“Pantoja already beat like almost the whole top 10 so believe I can be next,” Silva said.
“For sure (this is the biggest fight of my career). Always the next fight is the biggest fight, right? I’m fighting with the top 9 right now. It’s the biggest.”
Watch the entire media day scrum with Bruno Silva above. He faces Manel Kape at UFC Tampa on Saturday night.
