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.