Manel Kape has been forced out of his upcoming fight against Brandon Royval at UFC 317 due to undisclosed reasons. As a result, Joshua Van will face Royval on the International Fight Week card taking place June 28 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Royval announced the new matchup on social media Monday and confirmed it with additional sources. “Manel Kape is out, Joshua Van is stepping in,” Royval said. “I have zero idea of the extent of Manel Kape’s injuries but I do know I have the hottest prospect and probably the most exciting UFC flyweight in front of me.”
Van recently competed at UFC 316, where he scored an emphatic finish over Bruno Silva to extend his winning streak to four in a row. He will face Royval for the first time, taking a significant leap up in competition.
Royval remains a top contender near the top of the rankings with a 2-0 resume in his past two fights, including a win over former champion Brandon Moreno. Most recently, he took out Tatsuro Taira in a back-and-forth five-round battle that earned Fight of the Night honors this past October.
The upcoming UFC 317 card features title fights between Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira at lightweight and Alexandre Pantoja vs Kai Kara-France for the flyweight championship.
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2025/6/9/24446192/manel-kape-out-joshua-van-expected-to-face-brandon-royval-at-ufc-317