Manel Kape has been forced out of his UFC 317 main card match-up against Brandon Royval in Las Vegas on June 28th after suffering a broken foot in training.
The 31-year-old Kape’s fractured foot requires surgery, so he had no choice but to withdraw from the fight less than three weeks before it was scheduled to take place.
“It’s not easy to stay out of something I’ve been preparing for with so much dedication, and without a doubt this would be the most advantageous fight of my career, but I understand that this is just another challenge on the way, and I trust the plans that Allah has for me!” Kape wrote on social media.
Kape’s loss is Joshua Van’s gain as he’s now agreed to step in and fight Royval instead on just a few weeks notice.
The 23-year-old Van is currently on a four-fight winning streak in the flyweight division, with his latest victory coming just this past weekend in the UFC 316 prelims, where he TKO’d Bruno Gustavo da Silva in the final minute of their fight.
That took him to No.14 in the 125lb rankings, but now he’ll be taking a major step up in competition as Royval is the current No.1 contender in the division.
The 32-year-old Royval fought for the title back in late 2023, losing by unanimous decision to Alexandre Pantoja, but he’s since got back to winning ways with two split-decision victories over Brandon Moreno and Tatsuro Taira last year.
Royval vs. Van takes place on a UFC 317 card that will be headlined by a fight for the vacant lightweight title between Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira, while the aforementioned flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja also fights Kai Kara-France in the co-main event.
