Should we cue up Rodney Dangerfield and that classic line about “no respect”?
Brandon Royval signed on the dotted line for a flyweight headliner against Manel Kape for March in Las Vegas. After the news went from rumor to confirmed main event, Royval wondered publicly about the venue.
Former title challenger Royval (17-7 MMA, 7-3 UFC) and Kape (20-7 MMA, 5-3 UFC) will headline the March 1 event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The bout likely will produced the next opponent for 125-pound champion Alexandre Pantoja, who at UFC 310 earlier this month took out challenger Kai Asakura.
But Royval wondered why the fight isn’t worth doing in front of a bigger crowd than the Apex.
“Kape and I is a dope ass fight,” Royval posted on social media. “We should make this happen in front of a audience.”
Royval has had four of his 10 fights in the promotion at the UFC Apex. For Kape, it’s been even more frequent of a home base with half of his eight UFC bouts at the facility in Las Vegas.
Royval lost his shot against Pantoja at UFC 296. But since then, he has bounced back with a February win over former champ Brandon Moreno by split decision, then a split call over Tatsuro Taira in an October Fight of the Night main event.
Kape just picked up a big third-round TKO finish of Bruno Silva at UFC on ESPN 63 in Tampa, Fla.
Kape called for a title shot after the win, which was his fifth in six fights after two losses to open his UFC tenure in 2021 – including one to Pantoja. The win over Silva came after a July loss to Muhammad Mokaev, who subsequently was bounced from the UFC, which kept the title door ajar for him and Royval.
In the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie flyweight rankings, Royval is the No. 2 flyweight. Kape has the No. 6 spot. Royval is the No. 1 contender in the UFC’s flyweight rankings. After his win over Silva, Kape moved up three spots to No. 6 behind Moreno, Amir Albazi, Kai Kara-France and Taira.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 253.
