“Starboy” is ready to prove his worth.
No. 6-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight Manel Kape finally collides (knock on wood) with former title challenger Brandon Royval in the main event of UFC Vegas 112 this weekend (Sat., Dec. 13, 2025) inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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The Flyweight division is pure chaos at the moment after Joshua Van took the title from Alexandre Pantoja via a nasty arm injury last weekend (watch it). Now everyone’s wondering what happens next.
UFC CEO Dana White believes Van will defend the belt at least once before Pantoja gets an automatic title shot upon his return — so who gets the next opportunity?
Most signs point to Japanese contender Tatsuro Taira, who became the first man to stop former two-time champion Brandon Moreno at UFC 323. But if you ask Kape, that’s not happening. Not if he has anything to say about it.
“Let’s look at it this way: Brandon Royval beat Brandon Moreno. Brandon Royval beat Tatsuro Taira — he beat him, he didn’t just win, he beat him,” Kape told MMAMania at UFC Vegas 112 media day (watch here). “Saturday night, I’ll make Brandon Royval look easy, style on him, stop him. What can they deny me for? They cannot deny me. He beat the top contender fighter, and I just beat the guy that beat you guys. So there are no more questions. I’m the man. I’m the fighter with the best style to be a champion. I’m the fighter this division needs.”
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Kape makes a strong case, but he’s also leaning heavily on MMA Math — which historically means absolutely nothing in this sport. The bigger issue is that Kape has had rotten luck during his UFC run and hasn’t been nearly active enough.
He scored a finish over Asu Almabayev in March but later suffered a foot injury that scrapped his original fight with Royval at UFC 317 — a fight that ultimately became Van’s breakout moment on his road to the title.
Still, the UFC is clearly high on “Starboy” and has repeatedly tried to set him up for a run at the belt. And you can bet the promotion will be watching this main event very closely.
Things may finally start to untangle at UFC Vegas 112 … which is only three days away.
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LIVE! Watch UFC Vegas 112 On ESPN+ Here!
VEGAS VELOCITY! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to action on Sat., Dec. 13, 2025, with its final event of the ESPN+ era, UFC Vegas 112, which will take place inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. In UFC Vegas 112’s main event, Flyweight contenders Brandon Royval vs. Manel Kape clash in a high-stakes, five-round bout. The co-main event features a high-octane Featherweight showdown between Giga Chikadze vs. Kevin Vallejos, with potential title implications on the line. The card will also showcase a Middleweight showdown pitting Cesar Almeida vs. Cezary Oleksiejczuk, a Featherweight collision featuring Melquizael Costa vs. Morgan Charriere, and much more! The start time is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET (“Prelims” undercard) and 10 p.m. ET (main card).
Don’t miss a single second of face punching action!
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