The welterweight title picture just split in two, and the UFC 336 fight card is where it gets sorted out. With champion Islam Makhachev out until after Ramadan, Carlos Prates and Michael Morales will meet for an interim welterweight belt, while flyweight king Joshua Van defends against Manel Kape in the main event.
The UFC revealed the UFC 336 fight card headliners during the UFC 333 broadcast on October 24, 2026. The event lands at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on January 30, 2027, and the Prates vs Morales winner is in line for Makhachev.
What is on the UFC 336 fight card so far
Only two bouts are official as of this writing, and both carry gold. The UFC event page lists the prelims at 7:00 PM ET and the main card at 9:00 PM ET. The promotion has not named the rest of the lineup.
- Main event: Joshua Van (c) vs Manel Kape, UFC flyweight championship
- Co-main event: Carlos Prates vs Michael Morales, interim UFC welterweight championship
Why an interim belt at 170 pounds? Dana White explained it after UFC 333, relaying that Makhachev had told the company he did not want to compete until after Ramadan. “You can’t hold up divisions like this,” White said. “You gotta keep moving and this fight makes sense.”
Records and recent form for all four title fighters
Every number below comes from the official UFC profiles of the four men on the UFC 336 fight card.
| Fighter | Record | Rank | Last fight | Sig. strikes landed per min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joshua Van | 18-2 | Champion (#6 P4P) | UD win over Alexandre Pantoja, UFC 331 | 8.26 |
| Manel Kape | 23-7 | #2 flyweight | Round 3 TKO of Kyoji Horiguchi, June 2026 | 4.68 |
| Carlos Prates | 24-7 | #2 welterweight | Round 3 TKO of Jack Della Maddalena, May 2026 | 4.41 |
| Michael Morales | 19-0 | #3 welterweight | Round 1 TKO of Sean Brady, UFC 322 | 5.68 |
All four arrive on streaks. Van has won eight straight, two of them over Pantoja. Kape has stopped four in a row, Prates has three consecutive knockouts, and Morales is 7-0 inside the Octagon.
Van vs Kape: can the volume champion outwork a finisher?
The main event of the UFC 336 fight card is a test of output against power. Van lands more than eight significant strikes per minute, a pace few flyweights survive for 25 minutes. The cost: he absorbs 5.83 per minute, winning by out-landing people rather than avoiding damage.
His first win over Pantoja ended at 0:26 of round one after an arm injury at UFC 323. Since then he finished Tatsuro Taira in the fifth and took a clear decision in the Pantoja rematch at UFC 331.
Kape fights with far less volume but much more danger per shot. Fifteen of his 23 wins are knockouts, and his last four have all been stoppages. Both men share two opponents, which tells a useful story:
- Brandon Royval: Van won a three-round decision at UFC 317. Kape knocked him out in 3:18 of the opening round.
- Bruno Silva: both finished him in round three, Van at 4:01 and Kape at 1:57.
Keys for Van: keep the pace high from the first bell, so Kape never gets to sit in the pocket and load up. Keys for Kape: make Van pay on entry, since a fighter who absorbs that much will eventually walk onto something heavy. Kape also holds a three-inch reach edge on paper, 68 to 65.
Prates vs Morales: two knockout artists, one interim belt
This is the bout on the UFC 336 fight card with the clearest path to a quick ending. Prates has 19 knockouts among his 24 wins. Morales has 14 knockouts in 19 wins, and his last three opponents (Brady, Gilbert Burns and Neil Magny) all went out in the first round.
Magny is the shared reference point. Prates stopped him at 4:50 of round one in November 2024; Morales did it at 4:39 a few months earlier. That tells us little, so look elsewhere.
Where Prates has the edge
Recent quality of opposition. Prates went through two former champions in a row, stopping Leon Edwards in round two and Della Maddalena in round three. His only loss in this run came by decision against Ian Machado Garry in April 2025.
Where Morales has the edge
Efficiency and defense. Morales lands 5.68 significant strikes per minute while absorbing only 3.26, and his takedown defense sits at 90 percent compared with 78 percent for Prates. He is also six years younger, 27 to 33, with a one-inch reach advantage at 79 inches.
X-factors that could swing the UFC 336 main event and co-main
Ring rust for Morales. His last fight was the Brady win on November 15, 2025, so he will have been out roughly 14 and a half months by the time the UFC 336 fight card goes off.
Championship rounds for Kape. All four wins in his current streak ended by the third round, and his most recent loss went the distance against Muhammad Mokaev at UFC 304. Van has already gone the full 25 minutes with Pantoja and stopped Taira in the fifth.
What the interim belt is really worth. Makhachev is sidelined until after Ramadan, and no date has been set for a unification bout. Whoever wins in Toronto holds a belt and a promise, nothing more certain than that yet.
For the previous pay-per-view, see our UFC 335 fight card preview. For background on the injury stoppage that started Van’s reign, read Pantoja’s account of the UFC 323 ending.
Frequently asked questions about the UFC 336 fight card
Where is UFC 336 being held?
UFC 336 takes place at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
When is UFC 336?
The event is set for Saturday, January 30, 2027. The UFC lists the prelims at 7:00 PM ET and the main card at 9:00 PM ET.
Who headlines UFC 336?
Flyweight champion Joshua Van defends his title against Manel Kape in the main event. Carlos Prates and Michael Morales meet for the interim welterweight title in the co-main event.
Why Toronto could reshape two divisions in one night
Watch whether Van’s pace holds against a single-shot hitter of Kape’s caliber, and whether Morales stays unbeaten against a man fresh off two former champions. The UFC 336 fight card will grow before January, but these two fights already decide who Makhachev sees next. Two belts, four streaks, and only two of them survive the night.