Manel Kape vs. Asu Almabayev set for UFC Vegas 103 main event following Brandon Royval’s injury
UFC flyweight contenders Manel Kape and Asu Almabayev will headline an Apex Fight Night in March.
‘Starboy’ was originally slated to meet Brandon Royval in the main event of UFC Vegas 103. For his part, ‘Raw Dawg’ is riding a two-fight winning streak, comprised of victories over Tatsuro Taira and Brandon Moreno. Meanwhile, Manel Kape is fresh off a third-round knockout win over Bruno Gustavo da Silva in December.
Sadly, that fight will no longer be happening. Taking to Instagram earlier this week, Royval released a lengthy post revealing an injury has forced him out of his bout with Manel Kape. Just a few hours after the flyweight released a statement, ‘Starboy’ has a new opponent for the UFC Vegas 103 headliner.
As first reported by Sportsilinet, Manel Kape will now face Asu Almabayev in the main event. For his part, ‘Zulfikar’ will enter his first UFC headliner riding a 17-fight winning streak. Since joining the promotion in 2023, the flyweight has scored wins over the likes of Ode’ Osbourne, C.J. Vergara, Jose Johnson, and Matheus Nicolau.
B.Royval out. Manel Kape will now fight Asu Almabayev at #UFCVegas103 on March 1st. (first rep. Sportilinet) #UFC #MMA #UFCESPN #UFC2025 #MainEvent
Obviously that means the Almabayev vs. Nascimento fight for the same card is off. No idea if Nascimento remains on the card atm. pic.twitter.com/nQdsOWF7PN
— Marcel Dorff 🇳🇱🇮🇩 (@BigMarcel24) February 6, 2025
Manel Kape vs. Asu Almabayev set for UFC Vegas 103 main event in March
While Brandon Royval already has his own claim for a title shot, the winner of Manel Kape vs. Asu Almabayev could easily be next for Alexandre Pantoja. As of now, the UFC flyweight champion remains unbooked for his return to the cage. However, Pantoja is expected to meet Kai Kara-France in his return later this year.
As of now, the UFC Vegas 103 card is still being built out. However, here’s how it stands as of now:
Flyweight Bout (Main Event): Manel Kape vs. Asu Almabayev
Middleweight Bout: Cody Brundage vs. Julian Marquez
Lightweight Bout: Nasrat Haqparast vs. Esteban Ribovics
Heavyweight Bout: Austen Lane vs. Mário Pinto
Featherweight Bout: Hyder Amil vs. William Gomis
Featherweight Bout: Ricardo Ramos vs. Chepe Mariscal
Bantamweight Bout: Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. John Castañeda
Women’s Flyweight Bout: Andrea Lee vs. JJ Aldrich
Welterweight Bout: Danny Barlow vs. Sam Patterson
Women’s Flyweight Bout: Montana De La Rosa vs. Luana Carolina
Featherweight Bout: Danny Silva vs. Lucas Almeida
Flyweight Bout: Charles Johnson vs. Ramazan Temirov
What do you make of this UFC Vegas 103 main event? Who do you got? Manel Kape or Asu Almabayev?
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
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