The main event and co-main event bouts have been announced for UFC 336, featuring Joshua Van facing Manel Kape and Carlos Prates against Michael Morales. The card takes place at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada, on January 30.
- In the main event, Van (18-2) of Myanmar defends his flyweight title against Kape (23-7) of Angola.
- In the co-main event, Prates (24-7) of Brazil and Morales (19-0) of Ecuador clash for the interim welterweight title.
The promotion confirmed both matchups during UFC 333 on Saturday.
Van defends flyweight title against Kape
Van, 25, makes the third defense of his UFC flyweight title. In his previous bout at UFC 331 in September, he defeated Alexandre Pantoja by unanimous decision in their rematch.
Former Rizin bantamweight champion Kape makes his first attempt to win a title in the UFC. The 32-year-old was last in action in June at UFC Vegas 119, stopping Kyoji Horiguchi in the third round.
Prates vs Morales for interim welterweight title
Prates was initially expected to challenge reigning UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev, but the fight did not materialize.
“Well, Islam, you know, on average, Islam fights like once a year, and he was slated for January,” UFC CEO Dana White said during the UFC 333 post-fight press conference. “And then said, ‘I don’t want to fight until after Ramadan.'”
“And you just, you can’t hold up divisions like this. You got to keep moving. And this fight [Prates vs Morales] makes sense.”
- Prates, 33, won his previous bout in May at UFC Perth, defeating Jack Della Maddalena by third-round TKO.
- Unbeaten Morales, 27, returns to action after stopping Sean Brady in the first round at UFC 322 last November. In August, he served as the backup fighter for Makhachev vs Machado Garry at UFC 330.
The winner of the Prates vs Morales bout is expected to face Makhachev at a future event.
Additionally, the promotion announced its return to American Airlines Center in Dallas with a UFC Fight Night event on January 16. The bouts featured on the card are expected to be announced shortly.