Should Manel Kape skip over Alexandre Pantoja? Analyzing the UFC flyweight title picture
Manel Kape continues his climb to the very top of the UFC flyweight division, and the only step left is his long-awaited crack at championship gold.
Manel Kape is on the best win streak of his career, and it may very well earn him a UFC flyweight title shot. His only obstacle is the division's former champion, Alexandra Pantoja. The Brazilian hasn't fought since UFC 323 on Dec. 6, 2025 after dislocating his elbow in round one and losing the title to Joshua Van. Pantoja has since called for a rematch, but with Kape riding a wave of stunning success inside the octagon, the UFC has a difficult decision to make.
Manel Kape vs. Alexandre Pantoja: Who should fight for the title?
The flyweight title picture has rarely had this many moving pieces, and after Tatsuro Taira's failure to dethrone Joshua Van at UFC 328, the two strongest candidates for number one contender status are Manel Kape and Alexandre Pantoja. The Portuguese star is currently on a four-fight win streak, with all four wins coming by way of knockout/TKO. His most recent was a third-round TKO against Kyoji Horiguchi, a former Rizin flyweight and Bellator bantamweight champion who once faced the great Demetrious Johnson.
Kape's win took place in the main event of UFC Fight Night 279. Before that, he had knocked out Brandon Royval in round one at UFC Vegas 112, TKO'd Asu Almabayev at UFC Fight Night 253, and TKO'd Bruno Gustavo da Silva at UFC on ESPN 63. However, there's another element to Kape's title challenging campaign: the feud between him and Van. Both men have traded barbs on social media, and the two were previously set to fight at UFC 317 before Kape withdrew from the bout after suffering a broken foot. He was replaced by Royval, who lost to Van via unanimous decision.
🔥 Manel Kape’s last four fights:
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) June 21, 2026
✅ R3 KO/TKO vs. Bruno Silva
✅ R3 KO/TKO vs. Asu Almabayev
✅ R1 KO/TKO vs. Brandon Royval
✅ R3 KO/TKO vs. Kyoji Horiguchi
Title fight next? 👀👑 #UFCVegas119 pic.twitter.com/GvlmOBb19X
Few things drum up fan excitement like a good feud. Unfortunately, the last time Kape had a heated rival, the actual fight turned out to be a dud, as he lost Muhammad Mokaev via unanimous decision in a listless bout at UFC 304. Furthermore, he has a history of unreliability. He missed weight for his UFC 265 fight with Ode' Osbourne, caused the cancellation of his UFC Fight Night 205 bout with Su Mudaerji after testing positive for a DHCMT metabolite, also caused the cancellation of his UFC Fight Night 234 bout with Matheus Nicolau after missing weight, then withdrew from their rescheduled UFC on ESPN 55 fight for unknown reasons. Finally, he, as mentioned previously, withdrew from a UFC 317 clash with Van after breaking his foot.
Still, despite his unreliability, it's hard to argue against his case for a title shot. While Pantoja was a long-reigning champion, with four title defenses and a pre-championship win over Kape back in 2021 at UFC Vegas 18, he hasn't fought in seven months since the injury to Van. The UFC would be wise to take advantage of Kape's momentum and strike while the iron is still hot. He and Van should settle their feud in a flyweight title fight, and the winner can then face Pantoja. If Van wins, then he gets the chance to later solidify himself against Pantoja as the division's rightful champion by silencing any fluke talk from their first fight. But if Kape wins, he gets the chance to avenge his past loss to Pantoja in his first title defense.
It's a win-win from a booking standpoint.
