UFC flyweights Muhammad Mokaev and Manel Kape have reportedly been involved in an altercation at the UFC Performance Institute (PI) in Las Vegas, according to a teammate of Portuguese fighter Kape. 

The unbeaten Mokaev and Kape are scheduled to compete in a 125-pound contest at UFC 304 in Manchester on July 27th.

“Manel Kape hit Mokaev here outside the gym a while ago,” Kape teammate Jean Silva is reported to have told AG Fight.

“He elbowed Mokaev in the head on the street bro. Bro, he caught Mokaev at the entrance here to the PI, he headbutted him and elbowed him, in the street. He opened Mokaev’s head a week before his fight. He’s [Kape] a psychopath,” he added. (Note: the fight between Mokaev in Kape is scheduled to take place in a little over three weeks’ time.)

Silva, who defeated Charles Jourdain at last weekend’s UFC 303 event in Las Vegas, added that some of Mokaev’s own teammates failed to react to the fracas. Mokaev was born in Dagestan, Russia but moved to the UK at the age of 12. He was given UK citizenship in 2021.

Silva added: “The Russians here, bro, they didn’t even help, they just watched Mokaev take a d***, then Mokaev said, ‘I’m going to catch you’, he said he was going to slap Kape in the face. Then [Kape] saw Mokaev and Mokaev wanted to apologise, and [Kape] said, ‘Apologies won’t be accepted, now you’ll have to do it’.

“Then Mokaev took a step back. When I went down and opened the second door, [Kape] arrived and headbutted Mokaev and elbowed him. Mokaev fell down to the ground then the Russians just watched,” Silva said.

Mokaev, 23, is 12-0 (with one no contest) in his 13 professional bouts to date, which followed an outstanding 26-0 amateur career. Kape, meanwhile, as posted a 19-6 career record — and has won each of his past four UFC bouts.