UFC CEO Dana White (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC, Getty Images)
After the UFC Tampa fight on Dec. 14, UFC President Dana White told Manel Kape that although he hasn’t been given a title shot, he’s sure he’ll get what he wants. Looks like we know what White was talking about in his final press conference after the 2024 event.
According to multiple reportsKape will take on Brandon Roybal, currently the top-ranked flyweight, in a No. 1 Contenders match. The fight is reportedly scheduled for March 1st at UFC Apex.
Unless the reports are proven false, that will likely be the main event.
This fight looks spectacular on paper.
Cape has had a great performance in his last match. At UFC Tampa, Kape shrugged off three low blows from Bruno Silva and won by TKO in the third round. Immediately after scoring the finish, Kape went up to White, who was sitting in the Octagon, and begged him for a title shot.
White said he would talk to him. Apparently there was some discussion, and the result was a match between the No. 1 candidate and Roybal.
Royval solidified his status as the No. 1 contender with a thrilling main event victory over Akira Hira in October. A victory over Roybal would have guaranteed Taira a shot at champion Alexandre Pantoja.
However, Roybal drove him back, making room for Japanese newcomer Kai Asakura to challenge for Pantoja’s title. Pantoja looked easy against Asakura.
Pantoja successfully defended his title in the main event of UFC 310 on December 7th in Las Vegas. After the fight, Pantoja tried to coax former UFC flyweight champion Demetrius Johnson out of retirement with a callout.
The suggestion was shot down as Johnson quickly responded on social media, stating that he was happily retired from MMA. Pantoja has given the current flyweight contenders a hard time.
He has defeated Roybal twice and No. 2 contender Brandon Moreno three times. Amir al-Bazi, who came in third place, was just fired by Moreno in November. Pantoja also won against fourth place Kai Kara France, but that happened on the 19th. ultimate fighter Back in 2016.
Because of Pantoja’s dominance, the UFC had to dig deeper into the rankings to find a title challenger. Pantoja also defeated Cape. The two met in 2021 during Kape’s UFC debut.
However, Kape’s only loss since 2021 was against undefeated flyweight Mohamed Mokayev, who was sent by the UFC in July due to poor relations with fellow fighters and UFC executives.
Had it not been for his exit, Mokaev probably would have already had a chance to win the title. He definitely deserved to get the shot before Asakura. At this rate, the next title challenger will be either Kara France, No. 8 As Almabaev, or the winner of Cape Roybal.
stay tuned.
Here’s a look at the fight rumored to be part of the March 1st UFC Fight Night event.
- Brandon Roybal vs. Manel Cape – Flyweight
- Montana De La Rosa vs. Luana Carolina – Flyweight
- Lucas Almeida vs. Danny Silva – Featherweight
- William Gomis vs. Haider Amir – Featherweight
- Danny Barlow vs. Sam Patterson – Welterweight
- Cody Brundage vs. Julian Marquez – Middleweight
We’ll cover more information about this and other events as they are officially announced.
