A championship doubleheader is headed to Toronto this January. UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van is set to defend his title against Manel Kape, while Carlos Prates and Michael Morales are scheduled to face off for the interim welterweight title. It all goes down on Jan. 30 in Toronto as the first numbered event of 2027.
UFC 336's main event and co-main event were announced during Saturday's broadcast of UFC 333.
Van, the second-youngest UFC champion in history, has helped revitalize the flyweight division with his excitement and activity. January's title fight marks his fourth title fight in 11 months, including last year's title win over Pantoja. If he wins at UFC 336 and notches another successful title defense before May 9, he'll do what Merab Dvalishvili failed to and become the only UFC champion to record four successful title defenses in one year. But he can't look that far ahead yet.
Be sure to keep up with all the action on Saturday with our live coverage of UFC 333, including round-by-round scoring and updated fight results throughout the night!
Kape is a juggernaut at flyweight. He's finished 20 of his 23 professional victories, including four straight knockouts in the UFC. His calls for a title shot were impossible to ignore after he avenged his loss to decorated Japanese star Kyoji Horiguchi this summer.
Prates and Morales were the top two candidates to challenge welterweight champion Islam Makhachev. Instead, they will fight each other for the interim title. There were rumors that Makhachev and Prates were expected to headline the Toronto card. UFC commentator Jon Anik alluded to it on the UFC 333 broadcast, claiming the promotion tried to book Makhachev's title defense. However, Makhachev couldn't commit to the January date with an injury and, with Ramadan approaching, he couldn't book a title fight soon after.
UFC 336 takes place at Scotiabank Arena. The numbered event marks the promotion's first visit to "The Six" since Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland fought for the middleweight title two years ago.
