Alexandre Pantoja has been taken out of his December 19th UFC fight against Manel Kape. News of the change was first reported by Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting.
The fight was scheduled to take place on a “Fight Night” card from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. The reason for Pantoja’s withdrawal from the fight is not known currently.
It is not known at the moment whether Kape will be given a replacement opponent for what was scheduled to be his UFC debut.
Kape’s last fight was in late 2019, where he defeated Kai Asakura to claim the vacant RIZIN Bantamweight Championship. He is currently on a three-fight win streak.
Kape’s cancelled fight against Pantoja continues his troubles of finding a UFC fight.
Kape’s UFC debut was first scheduled for August, although plans changed after an ankle injury took Rogerio Bontorin out of the fight.
Pantoja lost his last fight, dropping a decision to Askar Askarov in July.
A five-round fight between Stephen Thompson and Geoff Neal is currently scheduled to headline the December 19th UFC card.