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

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.