Brandon Royval and Manel Kape are finally going to face off.
On Thursday, MMA Fighting confirmed that Royval and Kape will square off in a highly-anticipated flyweight bout at UFC 317, on June 28 in Las Vegas. Laerte Viana was first to report the news.
In March, Royval and Kape were expected to headline UFC Vegas 103, however, Royval withdrew from the matchup do to lingering issues from multiple concussions. Instead, Kape faced short-notice replacement Asu Almabayev, stopping him via TKO in the third round. Now, with Royval healthy again, the two will settle their business in the T-Mobile Arena.
The matchup looks to be a pivotal one for the flyweight division and could determine the next challenger for 125-pound champion Alexandre Pantoja. Currently the No. 1-ranked flyweight, Royval has won two fights since losing a decision to champion Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 296, while Kape has won six of his past eight bouts since he also lost a decision to Pantoja.
UFC 317 is the promotion’s annual International Fight Week card. This is the first major bout announced for the event, though more are sure to follow in the coming weeks.
Damon Martin and Mike Heck contributed to this report.
Discover more from Cave News Times
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Discussion about this post