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          Brandon Royval vs. Manel Kape to headline UFC's 2025 finale

          • Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterSep 3, 2025, 02:11 AM
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              Brett Okamoto has reported on mixed martial arts and boxing at ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He was also a producer on the 30 for 30 film: "Chuck and Tito," which looked back at the careers and rivalry of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He lives in Las Vegas, and is an avid, below-average golfer in his spare time.
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          A non-title flyweight matchup between Brandon Royval and Manel Kape will headline the UFC's final event of 2025 on Dec. 13 in Las Vegas.

          Both fighters confirmed the five-round contest on social media. The UFC Fight Night will take place at the Apex.

          The UFC ranks Royval and Kape as the Nos. 3 and 7 flyweights in the division, respectively. It's the third time this year the UFC has booked this matchup. The two were supposed to meet on March 1, but Royval (17-8) withdrew due to injury. They were rebooked at UFC 317 in June, only to have Kape (21-7) pull out with an injury of his own.

          Royval, who trains out of Denver, accepted a last-minute replacement at UFC 317 in 23-year-old Joshua Van. Royval lost a back-and-forth decision, in a bout that earned Fight of the Night honors and propelled Van to a future title shot. Prior to that setback, Royval had posted back-to-back split decision wins against top tier talent in Brandon Moreno and Tatsuro Taira.

          Kape has won six of his last seven appearances, including a knockout of Asu Almabayev in March.