Kai Kara-France brushes off Manel Kape’s challenge, opens up about rival’s alleged "insecurities" and "trauma"

Kai Kara-France recently brushed off Manel Kape's challenge and shared his thoughts on his rival's antics. Although he brushed off his challenge, he noted that he believes their fight is inevitable at some point.

The New Zealander has been at odds with 'StarBoy' for quite some time and the animosity was on full display at last year's UFC 293 press conference in Sydney, Australia. They were scheduled to compete on the card, but Kara-France was forced off due to an injury, and so Kape took out his frustration by putting him on blast while he was in attendance for the press conference. After earning an impressive win over Bruno Silva, he once again took aim at the 31-year-old.

During his latest appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, 'Don't Blink' responded and noted that he's not at all concerned about his rival's challenge. Kara-France said that it's a one-sided beef and mentioned that Kape is an insecure person, which is why he acts out the way he does:

"There's no issue on my part. I don't have any negative energy or any beef. It's the way [Kape] carries himself. He's a very negative person and very hostile. He's obviously got a lot of issues, a lot of trauma, a lot of insecurities. I don't know, that's what I see when I hear him call my name...That's the kind of person he is. He's selfish and you know, not going to go far in this world. That's why I'm in the position I am."

Check out the full episode featuring Kai Kara-France's comments below:

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Kai Kara-France sounds off on importance of UFC honoring flyweight rankings

In addition to responding to Manel Kape's callout, Kai Kara-France voiced his frustration with the idea of fighters outside the rankings or retired, earning title shots instead of top ranked flyweights.

During the aforementioned appearance, Kara-France mentioned that he wasn't happy about former champions no longer at flyweight being discussed for Alexandre Pantoja's next challenger. He said that it devalues the work other contenders have done to ascend the rankings:

"We're climbing these rankings for a reason and if we're not using it to further the flyweight division then the rankings don't really mean much if we're just going to pull out guys from retirement...Let the guys actually fighting at flyweight sort it."

Check out Kai Kara-France's comments below: