Tomorrow night at UFC Vegas 112, we will see the final fight of the ESPN era and in the main event, we are going to see a tremendous showdown in the flyweight division. Former title challenger Brandon Royval (17-8) will be taking on top contender Manel Kape (21-7).
This is a fight that was supposed to happen twice this year. In March, Royval suffered an injury which led to Kape fighting Asu Almabayev. In June, Kape suffered an injury which led to Royval facing Joshua Van which saw Van win and that led to Van’s title shot and victory last weekend.
Now, both of these guys are healthy and they both made weight so this highly anticipated matchup is on to close out the UFC’s run on ESPN. Royval’s loss to Van back in June snapped a two-fight win streak where he had wins over Tatsuro Taira and former champion Brandon Moreno.
While he’s looking to bounce back, Manel Kape is looking to keep things going. After an 0-2 start inside the octagon, Kape is 6-1 in his last seven fights including back-to-back wins by stoppage.
UFC Vegas 112 Prediction
There might not be a fighter on the roster that lives up to his nickname more than Brandon “Raw Dawg” Royval. The man is an absolute dawg and he is not going to stop coming forward and he will keep fighting until the final bell. Royval also continues to build as the fight goes on.
Manel Kape is much more slick and he uses his insane speed and technique to blast his opponents. When these two are at range, Kape is going to be the better fighter. While he’s not as long as Royval, he’s much more explosive and he has a lot more power in his strikes.
He also has the speed advantage. However, Royval is going to have the cardio advantage and we know that he’s going to keep coming no matter what. The question is, will he be able to break down Manel Kape at UFC Vegas 112?
I don’t think he will. I think it’s finally Manel Kape’s time to jump into serious title contention and I think he’s going to get the biggest win of his UFC career tomorrow night. I just think that the speed and power advantage is going to be too much and ultimately I think that he’ll become the first man to stop Royval inside the octagon.
Prediction: Manel Kape by TKO
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