Manel Kape will get an opportunity to crack the top 10 at UFC 275.
Kape (17-6 MMA, 2-0 UFC) meets Rogerio Bontorin (16-4-2 MMA, 2-3-1 UFC) June 11 at Singapore Indoor Stadium, promotion officials announced Wednesday.
Flyweights looking to make their mark in Lion City!🔥
IT'S OFFICIAL: 🇧🇷@RogerioBontorin faces 🇦🇴🇵🇹@ManelKape at #UFC275!
See them in action LIVE by clicking here 🎟️➡️ https://t.co/q6tpPxP7yp@VisitSingapore | #SingaporeMadePossible | #SingapoReimagine pic.twitter.com/tli7233TNI
— UFC_Asia (@UFC_Asia) May 4, 2022
After dropping his first two octagon bouts, former Rizin bantamweight champion Kape scored back-to-back first-round finishes over Ode Osbourne and most recently Zhalgas Zhumagulov at UFC on ESPN 31 this past December. The 28-year-old was scheduled to face Su Mudaerji at UFC Fight Night 205 last month but withdrew due to personal reasons. He is now booked against his initial octagon debut opponent, Bontorin, who withdrew from their UFC 252 matchup in August 2020 due to injury.
After a 2-0 start to his octagon tenure, Brazil’s Bontorin has gone winless in his past four fights. In that four-fight stretch, Bontorin defeated Matt Schnell by unanimous decision at UFC 262, but his win was overturned when he tested positive for hydrochlorothiazide in an out-of-competition test just two weeks after beating Schnell. His suspension was reduced to three months when it was identified by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that the dietary supplement was tainted.
The current UFC 275 lineup includes:
- Champ Glover Teixeira vs. Jiri Prochazka – for light heavyweight title
- Champ Valentina Shevchenko vs. Taila Santos – for women’s flyweight title
- Marvin Vettori vs. TBA
- Silvana Gomez Juarez vs. Na Liang
- Brendan Allen vs. Jacob Malkoun
- Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Zhang Weili
- Danaa Batgerel vs. Kyung Ho Kang
- Orion Cosce vs. Blood Diamond
- Jack Della Maddalena vs. Ramazan Emeev
- Seungwoo Choi vs. Josh Culibao
- Rogerio Bontorin vs. Manel Kape
