Tag: Manel Kape

Manel Kape Gets New Opponent For UFC Fight Night Main Event After Brandon Royval’s Withdrawal

Manel Kape finds himself facing a new challenger for his UFC Fight Night main event after his originally scheduled bout fell through. Kape was originally slated to clash with former UFC flyweight title challenger Brandon Royval in the headlining bout of a Fight Night card on March 1 at the Apex in Las Vegas. However, […]

Manel Kape finds himself facing a new challenger for his UFC Fight Night main event after his originally scheduled bout fell through.

Kape was originally slated to clash with former UFC flyweight title challenger Brandon Royval in the headlining bout of a Fight Night card on March 1 at the Apex in Las Vegas. However, “Starboy” suddenly found himself without an opponent on Wednesday after Royval withdrew due to an undisclosed injury.

According to a recent report from Sportilinet, Kape is now set to battle Asu Almabayev on March 1. The update was also confirmed by MMA journalist Marcel Dorff on X.

Almabayev had been lined up to face Allan Nascimento on the same card but stepped up on short notice for the main event opportunity. Meanwhile, it remains uncertain whether Nascimento will stay on the lineup.

“Starboy” is fresh off a third-round knockout win over Bruno Silva at UFC Tampa this past December. His momentum, however, was briefly derailed last July at UFC 304 when Muhammad Mokaev snapped his four-fight winning streak. Kape currently boasts a 6-3 record in the UFC, with five of those victories coming by way of knockout.

On the other hand, “Zulfikar” last entered the Octagon at a Fight Night event in October, where he earned a unanimous decision win over Matheus Nicolau. Since making his UFC debut in August 2023, he has remained undefeated across four appearances.

Manel Kape Pitches Replacement After Losing UFC Fight Night Main Event Opponent

UFC flyweight contender Manel Kape is wasting little time searching for a new foe after losing his planned opponent early next month. Following a return to winning ways via a knockout of Bruno Silva in Tampa last December, Kape was booked for a potential title eliminator against Brandon Royval in the UFC Vegas 103 main […]

UFC flyweight contender Manel Kape is wasting little time searching for a new foe after losing his planned opponent early next month.

Following a return to winning ways via a knockout of Bruno Silva in Tampa last December, Kape was booked for a potential title eliminator against Brandon Royval in the UFC Vegas 103 main event on March 1.

On Wednesday, however, “Raw Dawg” announced his withdrawal due to injury on Instagram.

After unsurprisingly firing shots at his stricken rival on social media, “Starboy” quickly turned his attention to securing a different opponent for that date.

And he has one high-profile name in mind…

“Moreno step in!!!”

Unfortunately for the Angola-born Portuguese flyweight, recent reports have Brandon Moreno slated to headline the UFC Fight Night in Mexico City later in the month against Steve Erceg.

But should that be the case, the former Rizin champion still won’t be without options. He’s already agreed to one alternative, giving the green light to a clash with the in-form Charles Johnson.

Having won four straight in the division, many were surprised to see the #12-ranked Johnson booked against a name outside the top 15 in Ramazon Temirov next time out.

With that bout set for the same March 1 event that Kape was scheduled to headline, perhaps “InnerG” will get his wish for a more prominent booking and be elevated to headline status versus “Starboy.”

UFC Loses Another Main Event In 2025 After Injury Forces Top Contender Out: ‘I Apologize From The Bottom Of My Heart’

Another UFC headliner has fallen through just weeks on from the promotion’s late scramble to find a new main event for its first pay-per-view this year. The opening numbered event of 2025, UFC 311, received a major change late in the day when Arman Tsarukyan withdrew from his title challenge against lightweight kingpin Islam Makhachev […]

Another UFC headliner has fallen through just weeks on from the promotion’s late scramble to find a new main event for its first pay-per-view this year.

The opening numbered event of 2025, UFC 311, received a major change late in the day when Arman Tsarukyan withdrew from his title challenge against lightweight kingpin Islam Makhachev on just 24 hours’ notice.

Renato Moicano subsequently stepped in, but that didn’t stop the disappointment of those excited to witness the Dagestani and Armenian rivals run it back.

No event is ever safe from cancellations, but the organization might be cursing its luck after losing another headliner in the first quarter of this year.

Former flyweight title challenger Brandon Royval took to Instagram Wednesday to reveal he’s been forced to pull out of his UFC Fight Night main event against Manel Kape at the Apex on March 1 due to injury.

“Unfortunately I’m going to have to pull out of my fight, I’m sorry to Manel Kape and my fans,” Royval wrote. “I’m facing an injury that has me questioning when I’ll be able to train again. This is absolutely a fight I think needs to happen for the flyweight division but as of right now competing month has been ill advised. Love y’all and I apologize from the bottom of my heart. I’ll have more details on my YouTube this week.”

It remains to be seen whether the promotion will seek a replacement opponent for Kape or reschedule that bout for a later date.

In terms of a new headline matchup, the event’s current lineup is devoid of options. With a middleweight clash between Cody Brundage and Julian Marquez set for the co-main event, the promotion will likely need to put together a new high-profile bout to close the show in Las Vegas on March 1.

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.