Henry Cejudo believes Manel Kape may have positioned himself as the next challenger for the UFC flyweight title.
Kape (22-7 MMA, 7-3 UFC) made a statement in the final main event on the UFC’s 2025 calendar last Saturday, knocking out former title challenger Brandon Royval in the opening round at UFC Vegas 112. The victory marked Kape’s third consecutive stoppage win and improved his record to 7-1 in his last eight appearances.
With the flyweight title having changed hands just one week earlier after Alexandre Pantoja suffered an injury in the opening round against Joshua Van at UFC 323, Cejudo, who retired that same evening, believes Kape could be next in line to face the division’s new champion.
“Manel Kape is with the flyweight division and who was expecting him to dog walk Brandon Royval all in round one,” Cejudo said in a promo video for Sticker Mule. “Guys, we all saw what Brandon Royval has been able to do in the flyweight division. Defeating Brandon Moreno and Tatsuro Taira in the fashion that he actually did. The simple fact that Manel Kape walks the talk, he's got knockout power, ending all three of his opponents in TKOs, it says a lot about him.
“There's one thing that the flyweight division needs. They need a mouthpiece. A lot of times the flyweight (division) has been conquered by foreigners but now having somebody who could speak English and actually walk the talk, it changes the whole damn game.
“The first time that him and Pantoja fought, it was a very, very close fight where a lot of people thought that Manel Kape actually edged it out and actually won. Forget what I think. What do you guys think? Who do you guys think that Joshua Vann deserves next? I personally say Manel Kape, Dana White, UFC. Book it.”
