Report: UFC targeting Royval-Kape for March 1 main event

A pivotal flyweight fight between Brandon Royval and Manel Kape is in the works to headline UFC Fight Night on March 1 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, sources told MMA Fighting's Damon Martin.

Contracts have reportedly not yet been issued.

Royval and Kape acknowledged the matchup on social media. They're ranked No. 1 and No. 6, respectively, in the 125-pound division.

Royval is coming off split-decision victories over Tatsuro Taira and former champion Brandon Moreno in back-to-back main events earlier this year. The 32-year-old is 5-1 in his past six Octagon appearances dating back to 2022, with his lone loss in that stretch coming in a December 2023 title fight with current champ Alexandre Pantoja.

Kape put on a show at the final UFC event of the year last Saturday in Tampa, dominating Bruno Silva en route to a third-round TKO. The 31-year-old got back on track after suffering a unanimous decision loss to Muhammad Mokaev in July. Kape is also 5-1 in his past six fights.

With Royval and Kape expected to meet in March, that leaves Kai Kara-France as the likely next challenger for Pantoja, who defended his belt against Kai Asakura at UFC 310 earlier in December.