While there’s plenty of uncertainty circling around the sports world (and real world for that matter), the flyweight division has always had lots of question marks. 

After a rough beginning to the division that involved a mistakenly announced draw and a forced rematch, ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson eventually reigned supreme. His dominance brought a staleness to the division that caused some people to discuss closing the division. 

The second champion in the division brought little extra security. While ‘Triple C’s antics brought more eyes to the division, his stay was ultimately short - defending his belt once against a bantamweight and then leaving for that division himself. 

Then, of course, came the UFC’s ultimately failed attempt to crown a third champion. A failed weigh-in and questionable knockout led more fans and media members to again call for the closing of the division. With that noise out there, the UFC made moves to improve the flyweight division, signing several names for both UFC contracts and Contender Series at that weight. 

Perhaps the most intriguing signing for flyweights is a man who was most recently fighting at bantamweight. The 135lbs Rizin champion recently took to social media to announce his signing with the UFC, but has noted that it won’t be at the weight class he recently fought in. 

“I signed in the UFC to fight at flyweight,” Kape said. “Flyweight is my weight for fighting. A lot of people know that I have a lot of weight and see I’m bigger for this division, but I can do 125lbs easy... In Rizin I was just fighting at bantamweight because we don’t have too many fighters in flyweight - the division of bantamweight is more exciting in Japan”

While not every Rizin champion would be an instant hit in the UFC and USA, Kape has all the makings of a star. Originally from Angola, he grew up in Portugal, and has gained a lot of his popularity in Japan. Having already created a fan base that spans three continents certainly isn’t a bad start. 

In addition, the 26-year old feels that he’s ready for the top of the UFC already and feels the UFC is ready to book him as such. 

“I want a fight with the champion or someone that is top 5 in the rankings - after I can get [a title shot] 100%,” he said. “I can beat whatever fighter in the UFC in my division.”

Although the uncertainty of the present situation has made it tough to predict when his first UFC bout will take place, he’s eager to get in there and hopefully do so on American soil in order to continue building that fan base throughout the world and maybe even bring a little stability to the division. 

“I just want to make my first fight to prove my talent and prove that I deserve to fight for the belt,” he said. “I would like to fight in New York or Las Vegas, 100%.”

Whether it will be on a private island or one of those locations remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain - Kape is a name to keep an eye on.