This Saturday, UFC’s 2025 schedule ends with a Fight Night main event between flyweight contenders Brandon Royval and Manel Kape. It’s the third time these two have been booked to fight one another this year after Royval pulled out of a March bout due to a concussion and Kape couldn’t make a June date after breaking his foot.
While the matchup has lost some steam over the ensuing months, particularly after Royval fell to new champion Joshua Van at UFC 317 and dropped out of the flyweight title picture, it’s still an all-action style clash between two high-output, risk-taking fighters who aren’t particularly concerned with shooting takedowns. For diehard fans, it’s an entertaining way to close out the year.
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Flyweight contenders Brandon Royval and Manel Kape meet at the UFC Apex in the final main event of 2025. Watch UFC Fight Night action Saturday, Dec. 13 on Sportsnet 360 and Sportsnet+ with coverage beginning at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
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And the undercard is dotted with more intriguing fighters than you’ll typically see at a run-of-the mill Apex event, including a surging up-and-comer and battle-tested former champion who could set the stage for 2026 breakouts.
Start with Argentina’s Kevin Vallejos, whose lone loss as a professional came to ranked featherweight Jean Silva on the Contender Series when he only 21 years old. Now 24 after breaking into the UFC on his second attempt, he’s getting a huge early-career test against veteran Giga Chikadze, who was on the periphery of the 145-pound title picture not long ago and is still ranked No. 15 in the division.
Then there’s Yaroslav Amosov, the former Bellator welterweight champion who ran his professional record to 27-0 before an upset defeat in late 2023. The 32-year-old has been mostly inactive since but signed with the UFC earlier this year to take a run at a second 170-pound belt, which begins Saturday against the always-active Neil Magny.
Here’s a closer look at Vallejos’s and Amosov’s fights as they seek to end 2025 with statement performances that could launch them into contention come the new year.
Kevin Vallejos vs. Giga Chikadze
At a time when the old guard controls the title picture across UFC — Van, 24, just joined Ilia Topuria, 28, as the only champions in their 20s — there is a youth movement working beneath the surface to position themselves ahead of the next wave of contenders.
Van just became the first fighter born in the 2000s to fight for a title and his first defence could come against another — 25-year-old Tatsuro Taira. On the women’s side, Erin Blanchfield is destined for a title shot but just a hair too old (she was born May 4, 1999) for inclusion. Yet 24-year-old Tereza Bleda and 23-year-old Iasmin Lucindo could become the first women born post-Y2K to challenge champions with 2026 breakouts.
Then there’s Raul Rosas Jr., born Oct. 8, 2004, who’s found a way to stand out in a stacked bantamweight division. Tallison Teixeira, who turned 26 over the weekend, suffered a recent setback at heavyweight, yet remained in the top-15. Michael Morales, also 26, feels inevitable at welterweight. Knocking on the middleweight rankings doorstep, you’ll find undefeated 24-year-old Baisangur Susurkaev. Three wins — two via first round knockout — in 2025 put 25-year-old lightweight Quillan Salkilld on the radar.
And here comes Vallejos, who turned 24 on Monday, looking for his third victory of the year on Saturday against featherweight rankings mainstay Giga Chikadze. The Argentinian took full advantage of his second Contender Series opportunity in late 2024, ripping crisp combinations on Cam Teague to force a first-round stoppage. Then he earned another first-round TKO in his March UFC debut and followed it up with a unanimous decision win over fellow prospect Danny Silva in August.
The only loss on Vallejos’s record came to Silva in a competitive Contender Series clash, which aged tremendously as the Fighting Nerds standout went on to post stoppage victories in his first five UFC fights and force his way up the featherweight rankings. It’ll depend on fate and timing, but a rematch feels unavoidable before long.
Of course, Vallejos must first get through Chikadze, his biggest test yet. It wasn’t so long ago that the 37-year-old charged up the 145-pound rankings, stringing together seven straight wins — the final three via first-round knockout — to put himself on the periphery of the title picture. But defeats to Calvin Kattar and Arnold Allen derailed that pursuit, and now Chikadze enters Saturday with losses in three of four, including earlier this year against David Onama following a weight miss.
It’s obvious what the UFC is doing here, trying to help boost Vallejos with a win over a recognizable name headed in the opposite direction. It says something about the promise the company feels Vallejos possesses. Now it’s up to him to take advantage of the opportunity, close 2025 with a third strong victory, and position himself among the sport’s best rising prospects in 2026.
Yaroslav Amosov vs. Neil Magny
It’s been four years of upheaval for Amosov, the Ukrainian who made his name with a remarkable Bellator run, quickly emerging as one of the best fighters outside the UFC.
The four-time world sambo champion fought frequently during the pandemic, winning three Bellator bouts in 2020 — two of them over NCAA Div. I All-Americans — before securing a unanimous decision over longtime champion Douglas Lima to claim the promotion’s 170-pound title.
But before he could defend his belt, Amosov was drawn home to contribute to Ukraine’s effort defending itself against Russian invasion. That kept him out of competition until early 2023, when he returned to Bellator and reclaimed his undisputed title with a unanimous decision victory — scored 50-45 by all three judges — over interim champion Logan Storley.
That return victory pushed Amosov’s record to 27-0 and he entered his next defence — in November 2023 against versatile Kill Cliff veteran Jason Jackson — as a heavy -450 favourite. But after Jackson stuffed nearly a dozen takedown attempts over the first two rounds, he landed a series of damaging shots in the third, dropping the champion, finding the finish, and taking Amosov’s “0” with him.
Amosov spent the next 15 months on the sidelines, exiting Bellator shortly after its merger with PFL before resurfacing early in 2025 for a one-and-done Cage Fury appearance against former UFCer Curtis Millender in a 183-pound catchweight main event. After cruising to a first-round submission victory, Amosov revealed he had the letters “UFC” printed on his mouthpiece and made his case for being the most dangerous welterweight outside MMA’s biggest promotion.
And after the UFC signed him last month, he’ll get to test his theory. Amosov’s promotional debut comes Saturday against a gatekeeping Magny — UFC’s all-time leader in both welterweight fights and victories — who’s already won twice this year via stoppage. Armosov is entering as a big favourite, ranging from -350 to -450 in the leadup. But UFC’s recent history of signing former Bellator stars is fraught with cautionary tales.
Featherweight icon Patricio Pitbull ended up on the wrong side of a unanimous decision in his first UFC fight. Bellator bantamweight grand prix winner Patchy Mix has looked like a shell of his former self, taking losses in both of his UFC appearances. And hyped prospect Aaron Pico was highlight-reeled in his debut this August by a Lerone Murphy spinning back elbow.
Amosov’s record speaks for itself and we’ve seen him thrive against top competition before, out-grappling NCAA Div I champions. But UFC’s welterweight division is as deep and talent-rich as it’s been in years, so even if he gets past Magny, exceptionally stiff tests await.
Yet regardless of how rigorous his pursuit of a championship in a second major organization will be, Amosov is clearly ready to put the last four years of unrest behind him. And say Amosov picks up where he left off in Bellator and rattles off a few wins? In a division ruled by the sport’s most dominant grappler, it can’t hurt to be a sambo champion with plenty of big fight experience working your way up the rankings.
