Joshua Van's next challenge is set. The UFC flyweight champion will defend his belt against Manel Kape at UFC 336 on Jan. 30 at Scotiabank Arena, the promotion announced during Saturday's UFC 333 broadcast. Kape is the only top-four flyweight Van has not already beaten.
The card will also feature an interim welterweight title fight between Carlos Prates and the undefeated Michael Morales. UFC 336 is the promotion's first numbered event of 2027.
A rivalry with history
Van (18-2), 25, owes part of his rise to Kape. When Kape withdrew from a June 2025 bout with Brandon Royval because of a broken foot, Van took the fight on short notice, won a thrilling decision and earned Fight of the Night. He then took the title from Alexandre Pantoja and has defended it twice, most recently beating Pantoja again in September. CBS Sports notes he is the second-youngest champion in UFC history, and January's fight will be his fourth title bout in 11 months.
Kape (23-7), 32, has been surging since getting healthy, knocking out Royval and stopping Kyoji Horiguchi in June. He has finished 20 of his 23 wins and has four straight knockouts in the UFC.
The two have traded jabs online. After Van's rematch win over Pantoja, Kape predicted he would make the fight look easy. Van fired back that Kape, who missed weight in 2024 and is one of the division's biggest fighters, should worry about the scale. "Start cutting now cuz u better make weight!!" Van posted, according to Yahoo Sports.
The welterweight picture
Prates and Morales had been the leading candidates to face welterweight champion Islam Makhachev. The UFC tried to book Makhachev against Prates for January, commentator Jon Anik said on the broadcast, but Makhachev could not commit because of an injury and, with Ramadan approaching, could not take a title fight soon after. The interim title winner earns a shot at Makhachev.
For Van, the stakes run longer. If he beats Kape and defends again before May 9, CBS Sports noted, he would become the only UFC champion with four successful title defenses in a single year.
Reporting sources: sports.yahoo.com, “Houston's Joshua Van to defend his flyweight title against Manel Kape at UFC 336 in January” · CBS Sports Headlines, “UFC 336 fight card: Joshua Van vs. Manel Kape, Carlos Prates vs. Michael Morales set for Toronto”.