Joshua Van Fires Back at Manel Kape: "Make Weight and Show Up" Before UFC 336

UFC 336 is still three months away, but Joshua Van and Manel Kape have already run out of patience with each other.

Kape opened Monday's exchange by telling Van to improve his defense or ask the UFC for permission to wear a helmet. "You better spend time working on that defense, kid, or ask the UFC to let u wear a helmet," Kape wrote on X. "You have my permission. Cuz I'm coming to do some serious damage to that pea head."

Van's answer was shorter and sharper.

"Shut yo ass up! Make weight n show up! I better not hear another toes injury bs again," Van replied.

This was fighter trash talk, not a change to the booking. The UFC has officially set Van vs. Kape as the flyweight title main event of UFC 336 on Jan. 30, 2027, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. Carlos Prates and Michael Morales will fight for the interim welterweight belt in the co-main event.

A title fight that already had friction

The insults did not begin with Monday's posts. The UFC acknowledged in its announcement that Van and Kape have argued for more than a year about who was avoiding whom. Making the fight official only gave the rivalry a date.

Kape earned his first UFC title shot by forcing his way through the division's most dangerous strikers. The promotion pointed to his knockouts of Brandon Royval and Kyoji Horiguchi when it announced the matchup. Sports Illustrated reported that he has stopped four straight UFC opponents and collected three consecutive Performance of the Night bonuses.

Van has answered every question that followed the unusual start to his championship run. He first won the belt when Alexandre Pantoja suffered an injury seconds into their 2025 fight. Van then defended against Tatsuro Taira and beat Pantoja by decision in their September rematch. There is no asterisk left for Kape to chase.

The matchup itself needs less noise than the fighters are giving it. Kape is a sudden, explosive finisher who can change a round with one clean counter. Van works at a busier pace and has stayed composed when flyweight fights become chaotic. Neither man is likely to get the quiet, orderly contest he would prefer.

Van aimed at Kape's sore spot

Kape attacked Van's defense. Van went after Kape's reliability.

The champion's response referenced Kape's past trouble with injuries and the scale, a history also noted by AG Fight in its report on the exchange. Van did not debate technique or trade a knockout prediction. He told the challenger to make 125 pounds and reach fight night without another withdrawal.

That is the sharper line because it puts the burden on Kape before the cage door closes. His recent knockouts earned this opportunity, but the belt cannot change hands in a social media thread. He has to arrive in Toronto, hit championship weight and do what he has promised against a champion riding an eight-fight UFC winning streak.

The rest of the argument now has a date. Until Jan. 30, Van has made Kape's first job part of every conversation around UFC 336: make weight and show up.