UFC Fight Night: Manel Kape KOs Brandon Royval, wants title shot

The final UFC event of the year may have ignited a new UFC flyweight contender in Manel Kape. Kape kept his newfound momentum afloat in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas, finishing former title challenger Brandon Royval with a right hook, followed by a flurry of punches at 3:18 in Round 1.

Kape kept his messaging simple: it's a title shot or bust next year as he targets newly crowned champion Joshua Van (16-2 MMA).

"Let's fight in Houston in February, or wherever you want," Kape said after the fight. "Just sign the contract."

Kape (22-7 MMA) continued his winning ways with his third straight triumph, while Royval (17-9 MMA) has lost two straight while being two days shy of his two-year anniversary to his lone UFC title fight opposite then-champion Alexandre Pantoja (30-6 MMA).

In the co-headliner, featherweight Kevin Vallejos landed a brutal second-round spinning back fist to send Giga Chikadze to the canvas that eventually resulted in a TKO stoppage at 1:29. Vallejos (17-1 MMA) ran his UFC record to 3-0, while Chikadze (15-6 MMA) has lost three in a row.

The card moved along with middleweight Cezary Oleksiejczuk winning a unanimous decision against Cesar Almeida, taking all three cards by a 30-27 score. Oleksiejczuk (17-3 MMA) has won five in a row, making good on his promotional debut. Contrary to a one-sided performance, Almeida (7-2 MMA) had a two-fight winning streak halted, marking his first loss under the UFC banner.

The card's momentum began to pick up with a devastating knockout from featherweight Melquizael Costa via a head-kick finish against Morgan Charriere 1:14 into the opening round. Costa (25-7 MMA) extended his winning streak to five, winning four of those fights during the calendar year. Charriere (21-12-1 MMA) had never been knocked out and has lost three of his last five appearances.

The next fight also saw the judges get involved after a well-rounded three-round affair between heavyweights Kennedy Nzechukwu and Marcus Buchecha. Unfortunately for both men, after 15 minutes, a winner wasn't declared as the judges ruled the bout a 28-28 majority draw. Nzechukwu (14-6-1 MMA) had won two of his last three fights, while Buchecha (5-2-1 MMA) is still searching for his first UFC win after having made his debut in July.

UFC Vegas 112 kicked off a six-fight main card that saw King Green win a split decision against Lance Gibson Jr., earning the victory by claiming two of the judges' scorecards 29-28, 28-29, 29-28. The fight marked the 53rd MMA appearance for Green (33-17-1 MMA) and capped his 12th year in the UFC. Meanwhile, Gibson (9-2 MMA) was making his debut.

The UFC is off before its 2026 schedule begins with UFC 324 on Jan. 24 in Las Vegas with a championship doubleheader at T-Mobile Arena.

--Field Level Media