Manel Kape out, Joshua Van expected to face Brandon Royval at UFC 317

Manel Kape has been forced out of his upcoming fight against Brandon Royval at UFC 317 due to undisclosed reasons. With Kape sidelined, Joshua Van has accepted the short-notice opportunity to 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 with additional sources confirming to MMA Fighting that the matchup is in the works with Kape out of the fight.

“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. Really nothing changes for me as far as what’s in front of me. I’ve got a gangster that’s ready to take my head off and earn his name off of me.”

Van just competed this past weekend at UFC 316, where he scored an emphatic finish over Bruno Silva to extend his winning streak to four in a row overall. The 23-year-old fighter has been tagged as one of the top prospects in the flyweight division but he takes a giant leap up in competition when he faces Royval.

He later confirmed the news as well on social media.

A one-time title challenger at flyweight, Royval remains a stalwart 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, Royval 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 is headlined by a pair of title fights as Ilia Topuria moves up to 155 pounds and faces Charles Oliveira to crown a new lightweight champion while flyweight king Alexandre Pantoja puts his belt on the line against Kai Kara-France.