Prates Meets Morales for Interim Belt as Van Draws Kape

Toronto is getting two title fights this January. Carlos Prates will fight Michael Morales for an interim welterweight title at UFC 336 in Toronto, and Joshua Van will defend his flyweight belt against Manel Kape on the same card. Promotion officials announced both bouts during Saturday's broadcast.

The interim belt exists because of a change at the top of the division. Rumors had linked Prates (24-7) to a fight with welterweight champion Islam Makhachev at the January 30 event. Officials said Makhachev recently told them he would not be able to make that date.

Prates and Morales

Prates has won three straight fights and collected a Performance of the Night bonus in each. Those wins include victories over two former champions, Jack Della Maddalena and Leon Edwards.

Morales is 19-0, but he has not fought since he beat Sean Brady in November 2025. He also has Performance of the Night bonuses in each of his last three fights, a trend across the UFC 336 card.

Van and Kape

Van (18-2) against Kape (23-7) is the main event. Kape, nicknamed "Starboy" and a former RIZIN star, has long circled a UFC title shot. He last fought in June, when he stopped Kyoji Horiguchi, and he has won four in a row, with bonuses in his last three.

Van took the flyweight belt from Alexandre Pantoja in late 2025, though Pantoja went down early with an arm injury and that left some question around the result. Van defended the title against Tatsuro Taira earlier this year, then beat Pantoja a second time, which makes him fresh off a title defense over Pantoja.

UFC 336 takes place on January 30, 2027 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

Source: Cageside Press