What’s next for Manel Kape and Asu Almabayev after UFC Vegas 103?

The UFC was at the Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, March 1 for UFC Vegas 103. The main event saw Manel Kape take on Asu Almabayev in a pivotal flyweight bout.

Kape entered the fight coming off a knockout win over Bruno Silva. Almabayev, meanwhile, was 4-0 in the UFC and was coming off a win over Matheus Nicolau to get his first main event spot.

Ultimately, it was Kape who won by third-round TKO as the ref stopped the fight. Following UFC Vegas 103, here is what I think should be next for the flyweight contenders after Saturday’s outcome.

Manel Kape

Manel Kape was supposed to fight Brandon Royval at UFC Vegas 103, but he suffered an injury and was replaced with Asu Almabayev. It was a tough fight for Kape but he made easy work as he was able to dominate Almabayev on the feet and land the better strikes to eventually finish him.

Following the win at UFC Vegas 103, Kape put himself in contention for the flyweight title. With Royval on the sidelines, Kape should fight the winner of Alexandre Pantoja vs Kai Kara-France for the title next time out. Kape deserves the shot and he had a close fight with Pantoja in his UFC debut in 2021 so the storyline is there.

Asu Almabayev

Asu Almabayev took a risk by taking on Manel Kape in the main event in just his fifth UFC fight. Almabayev struggled with Kape on the feet as he got hurt multiple times. He also couldn’t get his wrestling going. But, despite losing, it was a good learning experience for him.

Despite losing at UFC Vegas 103, Almabayev is still a top-10 flyweight and should still get a big fight next time out. Almabayev should welcome back Alex Perez to the UFC once he’s back from injury. Perez suffered a knee injury in June, so he will likely return in the summer, which makes the timeline work to fight Almabayev.