Royval vs. Kape to Headline the Last UFC Event of 2025
A flyweight bout between Brandon Royval and Manel Kape will be the main event of the last UFC card in 2025, on December 13 in Las Vegas. Both fighters confirmed the five-round fight through social media. The UFC Fight Night event will take place at the Apex. The UFC ranks Royval and Kape as numbers 3 and 7, respectively, in the flyweight division. This will be the third time this year that the UFC has scheduled this matchup.Originally, they were expected to face each other on March 1, but Royval withdrew due to an injury. Then, it was rescheduled for UFC 317 in June, but Kape was forced to withdraw due to an injury.
Royval, training in Denver, accepted a last-minute substitution at UFC 317 against 23-year-old Joshua Van. Royval lost by decision in a fight that was awarded Fight of the Night, propelling Van to a future title opportunity. Before that defeat, Royval had obtained consecutive split-decision victories against top-tier talents such as Brandon Moreno and Tatsuro Taira. Kape has won six of his last seven appearances, including a knockout over Asu Almabayev in March.
