Outside Source
Brandon Royval will help the UFC close out its 2025 campaign. | Getty/UFC
Brandon Royval and Manel Kape are going to try to make their fight a reality one more time before year’s end.
The flyweight contenders will square off in the main event of a UFC Fight Night on Dec. 13 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Not only is that the promotion’s final offering of 2025, but it marks the end of the UFC’s broadcast partnership with ESPN. Beginning next year, Paramount+ and CBS will be the exclusive home of UFC events. Marcel Dorff was first to report the 125-pound matchup.
Royval and Kape were initially slated to meet at UFC Vegas 103 on March 1 before Royval withdrew from the event after suffering multiple concussions in training. The bout was rescheduled for UFC 317 before Kape pulled out due to a fractured foot.
Royval Came Up Short in Title Eliminator
Royval would remain on the UFC 317 bill against Joshua Van, who defeated “Raw Dawg” via unanimous decision to earn the next flyweight title shot. That snapped a two-fight winning streak for Royval, who was coming off back-to-back triumphs over Tatsuro Taira and Brandon Moreno. The 33-year-old Factory X product challenged for 125-pound gold at UFC 296, where he dropped a five-round verdict to Alexandre Pantoja.
Kape, meanwhile, has been victorious in six of his last seven Octagon appearances. After Royval withdrew from UFC Vegas 103, “Starboy” remained on the card to defeat Asu Almabayev via third-round TKO.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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