UFC
Vegas 103 is in need of a new headliner.
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Brandon
Royval on Wednesday announced via Instagram that an injury has
forced him to pull out of a proposed flyweight showdown against
Manel
Kape on March 1 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Royval did not
reveal the exact nature of the injury. It’s currently unclear if
Kape will remain on the card against a replacement opponent.
“Unfortunately I’m going to have to pull out of my fight,” Royval
wrote. “I’m sorry to Manel Kape and my fans. I’m facing an injury
that has me questioning when I’ll be able to train again. This is
absolutely a fight I think needs to happen for the flyweight
division, but as of right now competing [next] month has been ill
advised. Love y’all and I apologize from the bottom of my heart.
I’ll have more details on my YouTube this week.”
Royval has won five of his last six Octagon appearances, with his
only defeat coming against Alexandre
Pantoja in a flyweight title bout at UFC 296. Since that loss,
“Raw Dawg” has posted back-to-back triumphs over Brandon
Moreno and Tatsuro
Taira in headlining contests.
Kape has seen a number of fights fall through during his UFC
tenure. The former Rizin Fighting Federation bantamweight champion
is coming off a third-round TKO triumph against Bruno Silva
at UFC on ESPN 63 on Dec. 14. He has won five of his last six
outings within the Las Vegas-based promotion.