UFC closes out 2025 calendar with flyweight contenders Royval, Kape

Fight fans just saw a new men’s flyweight champion crowned this past weekend at UFC 323 when an unfortunate fluke injury to Alexandre Pantoja resulted in Joshua Van winning the belt.

This weekend, the UFC closes out its 2025 calendar with a meeting between two of the top contenders at 125 pounds when Brandon Royval and Manel Kape throw down at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night, with the winner hoping to secure a shot at Van’s title while Pantoja is recovering.

Royval is a one-time title challenger and the No. 2 contender in the division, while Kape has risen to No. 6, thanks to his 6-1 run over the past four years

The UFC booked this main event hoping the third time is the charm.

Royval and Kape were initially scheduled to meet on March 1 in a Fight Night main event, however, Royval withdrew a month before the event as he recovered from symptoms of a previous concussion. Kape ended up defeating replacement opponent Asu Almabayev via third-round technical knockout.

Then they were set to meet at UFC 317 in the summer but Kape withdrew from the matchup after sustaining a broken foot in training. Royval ended up accepting a matchup with current champ Van on less than two weeks’ notice.

Royval is 7-4 in the UFC, with each of his losses coming against future or reigning champions. The 33-year-old from Colorado was beaten by Brandon Moreno in 2020, lost to Pantoja once in 2020 and again in their 2023 title fight, and Royval is coming off a three-round decision loss to Van in June that is widely regarded as one of the best fights of the year.

Royval and Van set a UFC record for most combined significant strikes landed in their thrilling bout, landing and absorbing more than 200 each in just 15 minutes.

Roval was close to potentially winning a narrow decision were it not for Van knocking him down with a big punch in the waning seconds of the final round to secure the victory. Royval is the only fighter to earn a win over Tara to date.

Before his loss to Van more than five months ago, Royval was coming off back-to-back five-round decision wins over Moreno, which avenged his previous loss to the two-time champ, and over rising contender Tatsuro Taira.

Considering how close and entertaining Roval’s loss to Van was, an impressive win over Kape this weekend would keep him in title contention and he could potentially make a case for being Van’s first challenger.

Kape has not fought since fracturing his foot in June but he’s in a similar spot to his opponent. Extending his winning streak with a good performance against Royval would put him in a position to challenge for the title.

The 32-year-old Angolan-Portuguese fighter is one of the most exciting and fast strikers in the UFC, and his style would pair well with Van’s and could make for an outstanding style matchup.

First things first. Kape has to make weight on Friday, then make the walk to the cage on Saturday. In addition to his two previously scheduled bouts with Royval falling apart, Kape has had nine other bouts either cancelled, postponed or rescheduled for various reasons since joining the UFC in 2020, and he has missed weight once before.

Saturday’s card is the 42nd and final UFC event of the year and the 12th at the UFC Apex facility in 2025.

In addition to this fan-friendly main event, which should be a frontrunner for Fight of the Night, the 13-bout card features the anticipated debut of former Bellator MMA champion Yaroslav Amosov.

There are also four Canadian fighters scheduled to compete: streaking strawweight contender Gillian Robertson, flyweight Jamey-Lyn Horth, bantamweight Melissa Croden and the debuting Lance Gibson Jr., who steps in on short notice to face seasoned veteran Bobby “King” Green.

Below is the projected bout order for UFC Fight Night: Royval vs. Kape (subject to change):

MAIN CARD

-- Brandon Royval vs. Manel Kape

-- Giga Chikadze vs. Kevin Vallejos

-- Cesar Almeida vs. Cezary Oleksiejczuk

-- Melquizael Costa vs. Morgan Charriere

-- Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Marcus Buchecha

-- Bobby “King” Green vs. Lance Gibson Jr.

PRELIMINARY CARD

-- Amanda Lemos vs. Gillian Robertson

-- Joanderson Brito vs. Isaac Thomson

-- Neil Magny vs. Yaroslav Amosov

-- Steven Asplund vs. Sean Sharaf

-- Melissa Croden vs. Luana Santos

-- Allen Frye vs. Guilherme Pat

-- Jamey-Lyn Horth vs. Tereza Bleda