“Starboy” is convinced he’s next.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight contender Manel Kape became the first fighter to knock out Brandon Royval in the main event of UFC Vegas 112 last night (Sat.,
Dec. 13, 2025) inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada (watch highlights).
It was indeed a master class.
With the Flyweight division currently in flux after Joshua Van took the title from Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 323 via nasty arm injury two weeks ago in Las Vegas, Nevada (watch it), the race for the next title shot appears — at least on paper — to be between Kape and No. 3-ranked Tatsuro Taira.
According to Kape, that conversation shouldn’t even exist.
“If someone believes [Taira should be next], they don’t know nothing about math,” Kape told MMAmania.com during the UFC Vegas 112 post-fight press conference (watch here). “Two plus two is not six — it’s four. And Royval just beat Tatsuro Taira. He broke him mentally and physically. I did Brandon Royval in one round. So do the math.”
Despite Taira being cageside for the UFC 323 main event — and UFC CEO Dana White previously hinting at a potential Flyweight title fight in Japan — Kape doesn’t believe the Japanese contender moves the needle.
“Nobody knows Tatsuro Taira in Japan. Believe me, nobody knows,” Kape said. “If you go to Japan, nobody knows him. They think he’s a cookie. You say ‘Tatsuro Taira’ and they think it’s a cookie. But you say my name — everybody knows that.”
“I don’t know why people talk about Taira so much when you see me fight and you see my style. There’s no room for my name to be near his,” Kape added. “We are different people. We are different fighters. I bring excitement. I bring finishes. I ain’t boring. And this guy just knows how to say, ‘I’m happy.’”
Kape doubled down, framing himself as the smarter business move.
“UFC is a smart and intelligent company, right? They make smart investments,” Kape concluded. “So if they want to stay smart, they have to invest in me. Only me. Manel in Japan can be the advertisement in Japan. They don’t need Japanese fighters — their own people don’t even like them. They like the Starboy.”
Kape certainly talks the talk — but more importantly, he’s backing it up. The soon-to-be No. 2-ranked Flyweight is riding a three-fight win streak, all by knockout, and has become the first fighter to finish all three of those opponents inside the UFC.
Loud? Absolutely.
Wrong? That’s becoming harder to argue.
For complete UFC Vegas 112 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.
