Brandon Royval says he is UFC 336 backup for Joshua Van vs Manel Kape flyweight title fight

Former UFC flyweight title challenger Brandon Royval says he will serve as the official backup fighter for the Joshua Van vs Manel Kape flyweight championship bout that headlines UFC 336 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on January 30. Royval revealed the news during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show on Wednesday, November 11.

"I'm the backup," Royval said, as quoted by MMA Junkie and Bloody Elbow. "I'm getting in shape right now, starting to lose weight after this week. And yeah, we'll see."

According to Heavy, Royval is expected to weigh in on January 29 alongside the main event fighters, meaning he could step in if either the champion or the challenger is forced out during fight week.

"They haven't told me anything specific"

Royval admitted the UFC has not given him a detailed plan beyond the backup role, but he sees it as a way to stay in the title picture.

"At least it keeps me in the title picture for a little bit, and it gets me studying the champion and the contender for the championship," he said. "Hopefully it's in the eyes of the UFC too, like, 'All right, we're up next.'"

"They haven't told me anything specific, just that I'm the backup," Royval continued. "I think that the Van fight will always be on the table for me just because how good of a fight it was, and we broke a lot of records or whatever it is."

History with both fighters

The arrangement has an unusual twist: Royval has already lost to both men in the title fight.

• Joshua Van beat Royval by unanimous decision at UFC 317 in June 2025, a bout later named Fight of the Year 2025 at the World MMA Awards, according to Heavy.
• Manel Kape knocked Royval out in the first round in December 2025.
• Royval bounced back by submitting Lone'er Kavanagh in the third round at UFC 329 in July 2026, earning a Fight of the Night bonus.

Royval (18-9 MMA, 8-5 UFC) explained why he accepted the role rather than waiting for a new opponent.

"I don't know what else I'm going to do," he said. "I'm in a weird situation where it's like, the people in front of me beat me, and then I beat everybody behind me pretty much. So I'm kind of waiting for a few fights to shape out before I can even have an opponent."

He added, according to Heavy, that he had seen Asu Almabayev as a good callout but did not expect a foot injury to keep him out as long as it has.

Royval's pick for Van vs Kape

Van (18-2 MMA, 11-1 UFC) defends the title after a decision win over Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 331 in September. Kape (23-7 MMA, 8-3 UFC) earned his shot after a third-round TKO of Kyoji Horiguchi in June.

Asked for his prediction, Royval said: "If it ends early, I think Kape will knock him out, and if it doesn't, I think Van is just so hard to pick against that he can get it done."

The UFC has not publicly commented on the backup arrangement. UFC 336 airs on Paramount+.