Brandon Royval vs. Manel Kape At UFC Apex, Not Larger Stadium
Eager for a chance at facing reigning flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja for a third time, Brandon Royval (17-7 MMA, 7-3 UFC) will face down previous Rizin Bantamweight king Manel Kape (20-7 MMA, 5-3 UFC) in Las Vegas this March. The bout means everything for these two 125-lb elite, but for Royval, the location of the match causes him a bit of confusion. For the winner of the pairing, a title shot is more than certainly in the cards for some time in the summer, but instead of taking place on a pay-per-view or headlining a sold-out stadium, the contest will go down at the Apex.
Since 2020, the Apex has been a staple location for the UFC, as it was the primary destination for all their events during the Covid-19 pandemic. In the following years, it has now become a frequent venue for the company due to its low costs of operations, as well as its closeness to UFC headquarters.
As the pandemic simmered down and cases began to dwindle, however, fight fans and fighters alike have begun to show their disdain for the Apex, citing how small the building is and generally preferring having larger crowds in attendance.
Brandon Royval Voices Opinion on His Next Fight’s Location
This sentiment is shared by Brandon Royval, who took to X in a recent post sharing his thoughts on his upcoming trip to Sin City.
Kape and I is a dope ass fight… we should make this happen in front of a audience pic.twitter.com/BNTE2lb73f
— Brandon (@brandonroyval) December 22, 2024
Brandon Royval Hard at Work To Earn Second Title Shot
Falling short in his first title opportunity at UFC 296 to Pantoja, Brandon Royval has since put together a splendid two-fight win streak. Starting by besting previous flyweight champion Brandon Moreno earlier this year in Mexico, “Raw Dawg” encountered one of the toughest tests of his UFC tenure in rising 125-lb star Tatsuro Taira.
Going 25 minutes with the Japanese at the Apex of all places, Royval managed to claim a close split decision victory that appeared to have guaranteed him the next shot at the belt. Now left with one final obstacle between him and his much-desired revenge on “The Cannibal,” Royval will have to turn away the man whom some are calling the most entertaining fighter in the flyweight division.
After a Stretch of Inactivity, Kape Almost Near Top
Competing for the fourth time in just four years, Kape notched a thrilling third-round knockout against Bruno Silva two weeks ago at UFC on ESPN 63. The electrifying finish was his first stoppage win in the UFC since a December 2021 KO over Zhalgas Zhumagulov.
Since then, the biggest enemy to “Star Boy”’s road to the title has been his lengthy periods of inactivity, highlighted by the aforementioned four bouts in four years. In that same time period, he’s also had seven fight cancellations.
However, with his erasure of Silva, Kape has clearly proven himself to be a frontrunner in the race to become the next flyweight championship challenger. Against Brandon Royval’s nigh-uncrackable chin, the Angola native will have his hands full as he attempts to compete for his first UFC title contest.
