Hopefully the third time is the charm for these two as Brandon Royval and Manel Kape are once again pencilled in to share the Octagon together, this time in the final UFC bout of 2025.
After getting dominated in his championship fight with Pantoja at UFC 296, Royval posted back-to-back split decision wins over Moreno and Taira to work right back into the mix. He rolled the dice by agreeing to fight Van on short notice in June and landed on the wrong side of things, forcing him to take a half-step back in quest for another championship opportunity.
ROYVAL VS KAPE: View Fight Card
Set to wrap his fifth year on the UFC roster, Kape is within arm’s reach of a championship opportunity for the first time, having earned consecutive stoppage wins and gone 6-1 over his last seven outings after dropping each of his first two fights. “Starboy” is a dynamic and explosive talent, and when he’s locked in, there are few in the division as dangerous as the former Rizin standout.
These two were first scheduled to meet in March, but Royval was forced out, resulting in Kape facing and beating Asu Almabayev. They were rescheduled for UFC 317 in June, but then Kape broke his foot, leading to Van tagging in on short notice, outgunning Royval down the stretch and landing opposite Pantoja at UFC 323.
The winner of this one will have as good a case as anyone for a championship opportunity as we head into 2026… unless Van topples the champion the week before and next year’s title slate begins with a rematch.