Manel Kape believes he’s a big enough star to warrant the next flyweight title fight against Joshua Van.
UFC Vegas 112 was the last event for the year and took place at the Apex this past Saturday. Manel Kape faced Brandon Royval.
Both fighters knew that if they won, they would be able to compete for the next flyweight championship against Joshua Van after his recent win over Alexandre Pantoja.
And with that, ‘Starboy’ went on to score the first round knockout, potentially putting his name at the top of the pile at 125lbs.
Is this the best performance of Manel Kape’s UFC career?
MANEL KAPE FINISHES BRANDON ROYVAL IN ROUND 1 #UFCVegas113 pic.twitter.com/PpgXiNOmI3— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 14, 2025
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Kape compared himself to Cristiano Cristiano after impressive performance
It seems that Van is more likely to defend his title than Pantoja at this time, since the Brazilian will need some time off from action in order to recover from his horrific arm injury.
After competing on the same card, it was expected that Van would face Tatsuro Taira in the next round. However, after his victory on Saturday, Kape made his case to fight for Taira’s title.
UFC boss Dana White has hinted recently at the possibility of the promotion returning to Japan with a possible flyweight championship fight as the headliner.
Kape, despite being the most prominent Japanese MMA fighter at present, has said that he is a much bigger name in Japan.
“You…
2025-12-14 11:49:02
