UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van missed the start of the joint UFC 335 and UFC 336 press conference in New York on Friday, November 13, 2026, and challenger Manel Kape took his belt; Van arrived in time for the face-offs and took it back, Bloody Elbow reported.
What happened at the press conference
The press conference began at 4:30 p.m. ET (22:30 CET) at the Infosys Theater at Madison Square Garden, the day before UFC 334, according to MMA Junkie. Van, who defends his title against Kape in the UFC 336 main event, was not on stage when it started. Bloody Elbow reported that he arrived extremely late, while AgentMMA reported that he did not appear at the press conference. None of the reports we read gives a reason for his absence.
In a clip posted by the UFC on Paramount+ account and quoted by Bloody Elbow, Kape turned to Dana White: "Dana, what the f---. You forget the address for the school bus? Where is my son? I don't see my son here." Bloody Elbow and AgentMMA both reported that Kape took the flyweight belt from in front of Van's empty seat, and Bloody Elbow said he kept it on his table for the rest of the session.
After White wrapped things up for the face-offs, Van arrived and took his belt back, according to Bloody Elbow. The X account Championship Rounds transcribed their exchange from a face-off clip it credited to Dana White. Van told Kape, "Daddy's here." Kape answered, "Where was the school bus?" Van replied, "Shut the f*ck up, I'm gonna see you soon." Kape ended with, "I'm gonna knock you out, son."
Van's title run
Bloody Elbow reported that Van's reign began last December after an injury to Alexandre Pantoja. Our database shows Van winning the title by first-round TKO at UFC 323 on December 6, 2025, defending it with a fifth-round TKO of Tatsuro Taira at UFC 328 on May 9, 2026, and beating Pantoja by decision after five rounds in their UFC 331 rematch on September 19. Bloody Elbow calls the Kape fight Van's third title defense.
Van is 18-2-0 in our data and holds the No. 6 spot in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings dated November 10. Pantoja, 30-7-0, is ranked No. 2 at flyweight.
Kape, the challenger
Kape, 23-7-0, is the No. 1 contender at flyweight. His most recent fight in our database is a third-round TKO of Kyoji Horiguchi at a UFC Fight Night on June 20, 2026. Before that, he stopped Brandon Royval in the first round on December 13, 2025, part of a run of four straight TKO wins.
Royval, 18-9-0 and ranked No. 3, said on The Ariel Helwani Show this week that he is the backup for the title fight, MMA Junkie and Sherdog reported. "I'm the backup," Royval said. "I'm getting in shape right now, starting to lose weight after this week." Royval lost to both Van and Kape in 2025.
What comes next: UFC 336 and UFC 335
UFC 336 takes place on Saturday, January 30, 2027, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto and streams on Paramount+, MMA Junkie reported. We have not found official start times yet. In the co-main event, Carlos Prates meets Michael Morales for the interim welterweight title, with the winner targeting champion Islam Makhachev, according to MMA Fighting. Prates, 24-7-0, is ranked No. 1 at welterweight in our data and is coming off a third-round TKO of Jack Della Maddalena on May 2. Morales is unbeaten at 19-0-0 and ranked No. 3.
The press conference also promoted UFC 335 on Saturday, December 12, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. UFC.com lists the main card at 9 p.m. ET (3:00 CET on Sunday, December 13), prelims at 7 p.m. ET and early prelims at 5 p.m. ET. Charles Oliveira puts the symbolic BMF belt on the line against Diego Lopes, and Alex Pereira meets Sergei Pavlovich in a five-round heavyweight co-main event. Oliveira is 37-11-0 with one no contest and ranked No. 3 at lightweight. Lopes is 28-8-0 and ranked No. 2 at featherweight. Pereira lost to Ciryl Gane by second-round TKO at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14.
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Sources
This article was generated with AI and may contain errors.