UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van is back in action on January 30 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The fighter from Myanmar will put his flyweight title on the line for the third time. He takes on top contender Manel Kape in the main event of UFC 336.

The fight takes place at the Scotiabank Arena. The UFC announced the matchup moments ago. For Van, it will be his third flyweight title defense. Kape gets his first opportunity to fight for UFC gold.

Young King

Joshua Van has only been in the UFC for three and a half years but has made a massive impact in the division. Van signed with the UFC as the Fury FC champion. The now 25-year-old put three wins together within a half year but was surprised by a late finish against Charles Johnson. He ended 2024 with two more wins in the division and was looking to establish himself as a top 10 fighter in 2025. After wins against Rei Tsuruya and Bruno Silva, Van got an unexpected opportunity to fight top contender Brandon Royval on short notice, three weeks later. Van accepted the fight and won after one of the best fights of 2025 via unanimous decision.

Less than a year after losing to Johnson, Van became the top contender in the division. He took on champion Alexandre Pantoja for the title in December last year. After an early injury, Pantoja lost the belt to Van. A rematch looked to be next, but Pantoja needed more time to recover. Instead, Van defended his title against Tatsuro Taira. In a great fight, Van showed his all-around game and won via TKO in the fifth round. In his most recent fight, the rematch with Pantoja was scheduled. After five rounds, Van beat Pantoja via unanimous decision. Now, he is back to take on Manel Kape.

Starboy

In 2020, Manel Kape was one of the biggest signings for the UFC. The RIZIN FF champion debuted for the promotion in 2021. Kape had a bad start in the UFC with losses against Alexandre Pantoja and Matheus Nicolau. After also missing weight for his third fight, Kape knew his job was on the line against Ode’ Osbourne. But he showed his finishing skills, knocking out Osbourne in the first round via a spectacular flying knee. He closed out the year with another first-round finish over Zhalgas Zhumagulov. In 2022 and 2023, Kape only fought once a year. He won both fights and was scheduled to take on Muhammad Mokaev in what seemed to be an unofficial title eliminator.

In a disappointing fight, Kape lost via unanimous decision after three rounds. Kape ended the year on a win and told everybody that he was coming for the title in 2025. Kape impressed in 2025 with stoppage wins over Asu Almabayev and Brandon Royval. He hoped for a title shot in 2026 but was given former foe Kyoji Horiguchi instead. Kape lost to Horiguchi years ago in Japan, but got his revenge via TKO in the third round earlier this year. With that win, he finally secured his title shot and will take on champion Joshua Van for the flyweight title.

UFC 336 – Toronto

• Joshua Van vs. Manel Kape
• Carlos Prates vs. Michael Morales