Manel Kape is out of another fight.
‘Starboy’ was scheduled to square off with Brandon Royval at UFC 317 during this month’s International Fight Week festivities in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case after Kape broke his foot while training for the upcoming clash.
Now, we have footage of the incident, courtesy of ESPN KnockOut on X.
“I suffered a foot fracture during the training &, after medical evaluation, I was instructed to have surgery & focus 100% on recovery,” Kape wrote in a post on Instagram. “It’s not easy to stay out of something I’ve been preparing for with so much dedication, and without a doubt this would be the most advantageous fight of my career but I understand that this is just another challenge on the way and I trust the plans that Allah has for me!”
This is the 11th time that one of Kape’s fights has been cancelled during his four-year run with the promotion. It’s unclear how long ‘Starboy’ will be sidelined due to the injury, but fortunately, the UFC was able to rustle up a replacement opponent for Royval.
Joshua Van steps up to replace manel kape at UFC 317
‘Raw Dawg’ will now square off with Joshua Van on June 28
Van just competed at UFC 316, scoring a third-round TKO over 12th-ranked Bruno Silva. The win extended his unbeaten streak to four and moved his overall record inside the Octagon to 7-1.
If Van can pull off the upset in Las Vegas, he’ll skyrocket himself to the top of the rankings and likely solidify himself a shot at reigning flyweight king Alexandre Pantoja.
