Tag: Manel Kape

Aljamain Sterling Predicts The Four Most Likely New UFC Champions In 2025

A lot can change across 12 months in MMA which means that at the start of 2025, it’s time to speculate about what the year has in store for fight fans. Aljamain Sterling did just that via his podcast where he went division by division to pick out names that could become UFC champions by […]

A lot can change across 12 months in MMA which means that at the start of 2025, it’s time to speculate about what the year has in store for fight fans. Aljamain Sterling did just that via his podcast where he went division by division to pick out names that could become UFC champions by the end of the year.

The former UFC bantamweight champion picked out four names contenders who he believes have the potential to dethrone the current titleholders in their respective divisions. He started at flyweight where a recently reported clash for March 1 between the #1 and #6-ranked competitors will likely decide the next opponent for Alexandre Pantoja.

“I can see Manel Kape as 125. Dude, he’s just a super fun fighter to watch. He’s very well-rounded, his ground game might be as good as his standup but he’s very well-rounded. If he can keep the fight standing long enough, he’s clean enough where I think he actually gives Pantoja a run for his money.”

Sterling also named a challenger who has already had his title fight made official for the first PPV card of the year. Though he didn’t necessarily pick Arman Tsarukyan to beat Islam Makhachev in their lightweight title rematch, “Funkmaster” believes that he has a good chance of doing it.

“Arman Tsarukyan I think has a very great potential for an upset in January and that’s just based on how he looked when he fought Islam the first time, how he’s looked over the years, growing, and he was only 22.”

The final two picks on Sterling’s list came down to the two heavyweight weight classes in the sport. If there was a consensus list from the fans, you’d probably expect to see both Magomed Ankalaev and Tom Aspinall make the cut.

Ankalaev is believed to be the toughest test for Alex Pereira and in Aspinall’s case, he might not even get the chance to fight Jon Jones before being promoted to the world champion if there title unification never takes place.

“I could see Ankalaev becoming champ in 2025. I could see that.

“Heavyweight I think Tom Aspinall. I don’t see Jon Jones sticking around much longer. I think he does one more fight whether it’s against Pereira or Tommy Aspinall but I think at some point, Tommy Aspinall will become the undisputed champion.”

Brandon Royval Calls For Venue Change After Crucial Manel Kape Fight Announced For UFC Apex

UFC flyweight contender Brandon Royval believes the magnitude of his next fight lends itself to a better environment than the Apex. 2024 was a successful year for the #1-ranked Royval, who entered it off the back of a disappointing performance in his title challenge against Alexandre Pantoja last December. First, a short-notice opportunity to run […]

UFC flyweight contender Brandon Royval believes the magnitude of his next fight lends itself to a better environment than the Apex.

2024 was a successful year for the #1-ranked Royval, who entered it off the back of a disappointing performance in his title challenge against Alexandre Pantoja last December.

First, a short-notice opportunity to run it back with Brandon Moreno in Mexico arose, and “Raw Dawg” made the most of it by outpointing the former champion. And eight months later, Royval returned to a win streak by turning away the charge of Japan’s Tatsuro Taira.

With that, the 32-year-old is firmly back within the championship conversation at 125 pounds. And to earn another chance at the gold, Royval must now get past Manel Kape.

The pair were recently announced as the headliners for the March 1 UFC Fight Night at the Apex in Las Vegas. Like his win over Taira, the clash is currently slated to take place with a limited crowd at the low-capacity Apex facility in Las Vegas.

But given the likely title stakes — not to mention both men’s ability to put on a show inside the Octagon — Royval thinks that should change…

“Kape and I is a dope ass fight,” he wrote on X. “We should make this happen in front of an audience.”

For “Starboy,” the bout offers the chance for him to secure a first title shot on MMA’s biggest stage. The former Rizin champ originally called his shot for a rematch versus Pantoja next year after a dominant victory over Bruno Silva in Tampa earlier this month.

But after Dana White was quick to dismiss that as a possibility, Kape now has his next assignment in the calendar, as he looks to wrest Royval’s top contender status away in 2025 en route to the flyweight throne.

Manel Kape Misses Out On Title Shot, Faces Top Contender In UFC Fight Night Main Event

Manel Kape’s recent performance will not earn him a UFC flyweight title shot — at least not yet. He may, however, be one fight away from getting such. Per Ag. Fight, Kape’s next fight has already been booked, as he will take on former title challenger Brandon Royval in the main event of a UFC […]

Manel Kape’s recent performance will not earn him a UFC flyweight title shot — at least not yet. He may, however, be one fight away from getting such.

Per Ag. Fight, Kape’s next fight has already been booked, as he will take on former title challenger Brandon Royval in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card at the APEX on March 1, 2025.

Kape competed on last week’s UFC Tampa card, taking out Bruno Silva in a highlight TKO. The result marked “Starboy’s” fifth win in his last six fights and helped him bounce back from a loss in his dlackluster outing with Muhammad Mokaev at UFC 304 earlier this year.

Manel Kape vs. Brandon Royval Targeted For March 1 UFC Fight Night

Royval is on a similar path, having defeated former champion Brandon Moreno and the highly touted Tatsuro Taira in his two 2024 fights. His sole loss in recent times was an unsuccessful challenge of current flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 296. “Raw Dawg” also lost to Pantoja in their initial 2021 meeting.

Pantoja, meanwhile , successfully defended the title against former RIZIN champion Kai Asakura in the Japanese star’s UFC debut earlier this month at UFC 310.

Manel Kape vs. Brandon Royval Booked for UFC Flyweight Title Eliminator on March 1

Manel Kape vs. Brandon Royval Booked for UFC Flyweight Title Eliminator on March 1Manel Kape and Brandon Royval are set for a scrap on March 1 to determine flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja’s…

Manel Kape vs. Brandon Royval Booked for UFC Flyweight Title Eliminator on March 1

Manel Kape and Brandon Royval are set for a scrap on March 1 to determine flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja’s next challenger.

Kape scored an impressive third-round knockout against Bruno Silva at the promotion’s final event of 2024. Having won five of his last six, ‘Starboy’ is on the cusp of his first shot at UFC gold. To get there, he’ll have to go through Royval per a report from AG Fight.

According to the report, Kape and Royval will square off on March 1 when the UFC heads back to The APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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After seeing his four-fight win streak snapped at the hands of the recently released Muhammad Mokaev, Kape bounced back in a big way against Silva at UFC Tampa. Through two rounds, ‘Starboy’ delivered a dominant performance accompanied by a healthy amount of trash talk and showboating before finishing Silva just under the two-minute mark of the third round.

Kape goes into the title eliminator sporting a 5-3 record inside the Octagon, 20-7 overall, and is the sixth-ranked contender in the flyweight division.

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Brandon Rovyal earn a third crack at Pantoja with a win over Manel Kape

Standing across from ‘Starboy’ this spring will be Brandon Royval, a former UFC title challenger coming off an impressive performance against Tatsuro Taira at a Fight Night event in October.

Like Kape, Royval has won five of his last six and is currently sitting on back-to-back wins over Taira and former flyweight titleholder Brandon Moreno. ‘Raw Dog’ also holds victories over Tim Elliott, Kai Kara-France, and Matheus Nicolau. Royval has already gone toe-to-toe with Pantoja on two separate occasions — once before and once after ‘The Cannibal’ claimed the 125-pound crown.

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Royval came up short on both occasions, the most recent being their flyweight title tilt at UFC 296. Pantoja earned a decisive unanimous decision victory and has since followed that up with wins against Steve Erceg and two-time RIZIN FF bantamweight champion Kai Asakura.

Royval is currently sitting as the No. 1 ranked contender in the division and holds a 7-3 record in the UFC, 17-7 overall.

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UFC Rankings Report: Colby Covington On The Brink Of Top 10 Exit After Tampa Defeat

As always, the latest action on offer inside the Octagon has seen some climb the ladder toward contention and others fall away. And in the aftermath of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night in Tampa, MMA News has you covered with this week’s updates to the official UFC rankings. Men’s Pound-For-Pound: No changes. Women’s Pound-for-Pound: No changes. Women’s Strawweight: No changes. Women’s […]

As always, the latest action on offer inside the Octagon has seen some climb the ladder toward contention and others fall away.

And in the aftermath of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night in Tampa, MMA News has you covered with this week’s updates to the official UFC rankings.

Men’s Pound-For-Pound: No changes.

Women’s Pound-for-Pound: No changes.

Women’s Strawweight: No changes.

Women’s Flyweight: Miranda Maverick didn’t perform as she had hoped on Saturday night, but she still got the job done over Jamey-Lyn Horth and has returned to the UFC rankings as a result. She’s now at #15, with her entry pushing out Casey O’Neill entirely.

Women’s Bantamweight: No changes.

Flyweight: Manel Kape was among the biggest winners to emerge from 2024’s final event, as he put on a show en route to stopping Bruno Silva with strikes in round three. “Starboy” has subsequently climbed three places to #6. The defeated Brazilian, meanwhile, has dropped one spot behind Charles Johnson (#12) to #13.

Bantamweight: No changes.

Featherweight: No changes.

Lightweight: No changes.

Welterweight: The final UFC winner of this year was Joaquin Buckley, who dominated former interim champion Colby Covington to stake his claim for a title eliminator next time out. The victory has seen “New Mansa” surge three places up the ladder to #6. “Chaos” has gone the same distance the other way, leaving him at #9 and on the brink of exiting the division’s top 10.

Middleweight: No changes.

Light Heavyweight: No changes.

Heavyweight: No changes.

You can view the full updated UFC rankings here.

VIDEO: Israel Adesanya Reacts To Inclusion In Manel Kape’s UFC Tampa Octagon Interview

One of the stand out performances from the final UFC event of 2024 came courtesy of Manel “Starboy” Kape. The flyweight contender returned to the win column with one of his best performances inside the Octagon to date against Bruno Silva. Kape looked incredibly fast and accurate in Tampa and though he can still be […]

One of the stand out performances from the final UFC event of 2024 came courtesy of Manel “Starboy” Kape. The flyweight contender returned to the win column with one of his best performances inside the Octagon to date against Bruno Silva.

Kape looked incredibly fast and accurate in Tampa and though he can still be a divisive character, displays like this make it easy to remember why some fans were so excited for him to arrive in the UFC. It doesn’t seem like this win will be enough for him to get his first shot at the title but he won’t be far off following this victory.

Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was enjoying some food whilst watching the Portuguese stand out go to work during his YouTube reactions to the fights.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, he heard his own name after Kape used his time on the mic to reignite an old feud. At UFC 293, Kape and Adesanya got into a heated exchange at the press conference due to the flyweight’s comments about one of Adesanya’s close teammates, Kai Kara-France.

After getting his hand raised, Kape spent part of his post-fight interview calling out the likes of Kara-France, Adesanya and Brandon Moreno. Having just given “Starboy” lots of credit for his performance, “The Last Stylebender” was caught off guard but he did find the whole thing amusing rather than taking it to heart.

“Why’d he say f*** me for? Man, I give this guy this credit like he’s looking nice and then he said ‘F*** you’. Hey, I still keep it real man, he f****** showed out. Hey man, this shows I been in his head this whole time, I didn’t even think it was like that but he did well, good job… little b**** a** n****.”