Manel Kape to Face Alexandre Pantoja at UFC Fight Night Event on Dec. 19

Ex-Rizin Fighting Fighting Federation champ Manel Kape is expected to finally make his Octagon debut against Alexandre Pantoja at a UFC Fight Night event on Dec. 19.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the bantamweight booking. The card takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and will likely be headlined by a welterweight showdown between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev.

Kape claimed the vacant Rizin bantamweight crown with a second-round technical knockout of Kai Asakura on Dec. 31. The 26-year-old AKA Thailand representative has won four of his last five professional outings — with each of those victories coming inside the distance. Kape was previously slated to make his promotional debut against Rogerio Bontorin at UFC 252 before his opponent withdrew from the bout due to injury.

Pantoja, meanwhile, is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Askar Askarov at UFC Fight Night 172 on July 18. Prior to that defeat, “The Cannibal” had been victorious in four of his previous five Octagon appearances.