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Joshua Van steps in for Manel Kape at UFC 317 against Brandon Royval

Originally posted on Empire Sports Media
By Daniel Cunningham | Last updated Jun 9, 2025 4:07 PM ET

This past weekend at UFC 316, Joshua Van (14-2) got to showcase his skills in the featured prelim against Bruno Silva (14-7-2). Van put on a helluva performance and stopped Silva in the third round which was his fourth straight win.

Van moved to 7-1 overall inside the octagon. The 23-year-old looks to be arguably the best prospect in the flyweight division and now he gets the opportunity to really shoot to the top of the division. Number one contender and former flyweight title challenger Brandon Royval (17-7) announced today that Manel Kape (21-7) is out of their fight later this month.

BREAKING: Manel Kape is out of #UFC317 bout with Brandon Royval.

Joshua Van expected to step in against Royval.

Per Brandon Royval pic.twitter.com/hylVlGsDk9
— Cageside Press (@Cagesidepress) June 9, 2025

That matchup was being looked at as a title eliminator with the co-main event of UFC 317 featuring the flyweight title fight between Alexandre Pantoja and Kai Kara-France. With Kape falling out of the featured prelim in a few weeks, the promotion didn’t have to look far for a replacement. The promotion called Joshua Van and he was down. Royval accepted the fight as well and now it’s official.