Joshua Van to defend flyweight title against Manel Kape at UFC 336

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Los Angeles, CA -(Photo by Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/The Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images) | MediaNews Group via Getty Images Joshua Van is getting back to work. The UFC flyweight champion is set to defend his title against Manel Kape at the upcoming UFC 336 card scheduled on Jan 30 from the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. The news was announced during the UFC 333 broadcast on Saturday. Carlos Prates and Michael Morales will square off for interim welterweight title fight in the co-main event. The 25-year-old flyweight champion has stormed the scene after he accepted a short notice fight against Brandon Royval and put on a Fight of the Year worthy performance. Van eventually captured the flyweight title after then champion Alexandre Pantoja suffered a freak injury just seconds into their fight. Van went onto defend the belt with a win over Tatsuro Taira before vanquishing Pantoja in their rematch to solidify his reign. Meanwhile, Kape has been a constant contender since arriving in the UFC but he’s recently gone on a five-fight win streak with finishes in each contest. Most recently, Kape dispatched Kyoji Horiguchi with a a third-round knockout to solidify his position as the No. 1 contender and now he gets his title shot.