Ex-Rizin Fighting Fighting Federation champ Manel Kape
is expected to finally make his Octagon debut against Alexandre
Pantoja at a UFC Fight Night event on Dec. 19.
MMAjunkie.com was first to report the bantamweight booking. The
card takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and will likely be
headlined by a welterweight showdown between Leon
Edwards and Khamzat
Chimaev.
Kape claimed the vacant Rizin bantamweight crown with a
second-round technical knockout of Kai Asakura
on Dec. 31. The 26-year-old AKA Thailand representative has won
four of his last five professional outings — with each of those
victories coming inside the distance. Kape was previously slated to
make his promotional debut against Rogerio
Bontorin at UFC 252 before his opponent withdrew from the bout
due to injury.
Pantoja, meanwhile, is coming off a unanimous decision loss to
Askar
Askarov at UFC Fight Night 172 on July 18. Prior to that
defeat, “The Cannibal” had been victorious in four of his previous
five Octagon appearances.