Brandon Royval vs. Manel Kape will officially close out the UFC’s 2025.
Emanating from The APEX in Las Vegas on December 13, Royval and Kape will headline the promotional final Fight Night card of the year. It will also serve as the final UFC fight to be broadcast on ESPN after the UFC locked in a massive $7.7 billion deal with Paramount+ starting in 2026.
News of the fight was first announced by Marcel Dorff before being later confirmed by MMA Junkie. Royval also confirmed the bout via Instagram.
This marks the third time Brandon Royval and Manel Kape have been booked to fight
Royval and Kape were originally scheduled to compete on March 1 before ‘Raw Dawg’ bowed out of the bout due to an injury. The contest was rebooked for June, but the fight fell through once again, this time due to Kape suffering a foot injury.
Royval ultimately went on to deliver a Fight of the Year contender against Joshua Van at UFC 317. Though he came up short, Royval’s stock continued to rise following the critically acclaimed clash. He currently sits as the third-ranked contender in the division, four spots above Kape, who occupies the No. 7 slot.
‘Raw Dawg’ is 3-2 in his last five, his losses coming against reigning flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja and the aforementioned Joshua Van.
As for Kape, ‘Starboy’ is coming off back-to-back third-round knockouts against Bruno Silva and Asu Almabayev. Overall, he is 6-3 inside the Octagon with his most recent loss coming against former UFC standout Muhammad Mokaev.
While Joshua Van is expected to be the next man up for Pantoja, Royval vs. Kape will likely serve as a title eliminator, the winner moving on to face the winner of the yet-to-be-announced clash between Pantoja and Van.
