- Oct 16, 2026
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UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van will face top contender Manel Kape in a title fight at UFC 336 on Jan. 30 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, the promotion announced during Saturday's UFC 333 broadcast.
Van, 25, captured the belt after Alexandre Pantoja suffered a freak injury seconds into their initial encounter. The champion subsequently defended against Tatsuro Taira before defeating Pantoja in a rematch. Van's first championship victory came on short notice against Brandon Royval in a performance that earned Fight of the Year honors.
Kape enters the bout ranked as the No. 1 contender and riding a five-fight winning streak, all by finish. The challenger most recently stopped Kyoji Horiguchi via third-round knockout at UFC 333.
The co-main event will feature Carlos Prates against Michael Morales for an interim welterweight title. UFC 333 saw Alexander Volkanovski face Movsar Evloev and Petr Yan battle Merab Dvalishvili for a third time, while Dominick Reyes knocked out Azamat Murzakanov, Abus Magomedov submitted Cameron Rowston, and Kody Steele earned his second consecutive finish.
Source: MMA Fighting - Sat Oct 24, 3:43 PM ET
Written by the SportsMafia Wire desk in our own words from the original reporting (AI-assisted, checked against the source).