"Kape's coach, Eric Nicksick, has assured me that Kape is healthy. That's the most important thing for him. If he's healthy, he's dangerous -- and perhaps the most skilled flyweight in the UFC. If his coach is right, Kape will beat Royval, probably by knockout. Royval is a volume striker who doesn't have the best defense. Kape's speed will be too much for him. -- Din Thomas"
"This is a tough one, but I'll lean Royval. Kape appears to be a one-trick pony, while Royval has so many different ways to win. He's dangerous on the feet and he's such an opportunist when it comes to grappling. Kape puts himself in some bad spots at times. He has shown he can scramble and muscle his way out of those bad spots, but he can't afford to do that against Royval. -- Anthony Smith"
Brandon Royval and Manel Kape meet in the UFC Fight Night main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas Saturday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN2/ESPN+. Royval enters after a close unanimous-decision loss in June to since-crowned champion Joshua Van and sits at No. 3 in ESPN's flyweight rankings. Kape is No. 8, has won his past two fights by third-round knockout and in March ended Asu Almabayev's unbeaten Octagon run. ESPN analysts split predictions: Din Thomas picks Kape by knockout citing health, speed and skill; Anthony Smith picks Royval by submission citing versatility and grappling opportunism. Betting insight lists Over 3.5 rounds (-140).
Read at ESPN.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]