Pat Kelsey addresses Mark Pope fight rumors: 'That dude's a competitor, I'm a competitor.'

Did Mark Pope and Pat Kelsey actually fight outside a recruit’s apartment at midnight a few weeks back? The Louisville head coach is ready to talk about the rumors and speculation suggesting the rivalry that has been mostly civil up to this point nearly came to blows over a teenager.

At the Salute to the Game luncheon ahead of this week’s St. X vs. Trinity high school football game, Kelsey joked that he had a dream recently about attending a pay-per-view fight and his name popping up as part of the main event. The other? Coach Pope.

“The dream was, this was a UFC fight,” he told the crowd. “Dana White, the president of the UFC, is here. This place is packed, just like this, with a thousand people. I get there, I look up — weird dream — and the headliner event, the main battle: Kelsey vs. Pope.”

Joking about a dream slipped into addressing the reality, somewhat confirming that something had happened between him and the head coach at Kentucky. What? That’s not totally clear, but he’s comfortable sharing that they’re both ready to compete both on and off the court.

“Some of you may see stuff on social media, things like that,” Kelsey said. “Heck, man, that dude’s a competitor. I’m a competitor. He’s the head coach at one of the best programs in the country. So am I. We compete on the court, we compete in recruiting. We go at it.”

Then he went out of his way to kill the idea that they hate each other’s guts, Kelsey complimenting Pope’s character and integrity as a head coach. He’s everything you look for in a leader of a program.

It’s his job, though, to destroy him on the floor when his Cardinals take on Pope’s Wildcats. That’s his hope and expectation when the two sides meet inside the KFC Yum! Center on November 11.

“But you know what? There is honor among thieves. We really respect each other,” Kelsey said. “I think Mark Pope is one of the finest human beings in coaching, a world-class father, a world-class husband — and I still want to tear his face off when we play in November.”

Take a look:

Today at the Salute to the Game luncheon for the St. X – Trinity football game…. Louisville's Pat Kelsey was the special guest speaker…. he lightly addressed the rumors that he and Mark Pope got into a verbal altercation on a recruiting trip a while back. @WHAS11 pic.twitter.com/l2WCakSf8O

— Kent Spencer (@WHAS11Kent) September 25, 2025

The alleged encounter took place on the night of September 2, the start of the recruiting period. Kentucky was scheduled to meet with four-star guard Tay Kinney right at midnight, followed by Louisville. Pope ran late, so Kelsey decided to start his meeting with the prized target first, leading to a verbal exchange outside Kinney’s apartment in Atlanta.

“There were some words exchanged,” Jacob Polacheck of KSR+ reported last week. “I was told it’s an exaggeration to say they nearly came to blows, but there was definitely some animosity between the two.”

The irony of it is that Pope had just joked about his relationship with Kelsey and how the temperature of the rivalry isn’t very hot — at least publicly — because of the mutual respect the coaches share.

“You don’t understand the level of hatred that we have for each other,” Pope said. “I mean, this Pat Kelsey — have you been in his room? He has pictures of me, just throwing darts.”

Maybe there are actual darts being thrown after all? Kelsey’s comments today confirm there is at least some truth to the story — and that he’s just as ready for Nov. 11 as we are.