Manel Kape’s long-elusive UFC title shot may finally be within reach.
The top-ranked flyweight demolished Asu Almabayev with a third-round barrage of strikes on Saturday in the main event of UFC Vegas 103, earning a statement-making win at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas.
The performance pushed Kape to 6-1 over his past seven UFC appearances, with four of those victories ending in knockouts — an impressive mark in and of itself for the 125-pound division, but also one that moved Kape into a four-way tie for second all-time for the most knockouts in UFC flyweight history, behind only Joseph Benavidez (5).
Afterward, Kape called for a title shot against the winner of UFC 316’s championship bout between Alexandre Pantoja and Kai Kara-France, which goes down June 7 in Newark, New Jersey.
“Who is next? Who is next against me? They’re going to deny again my title shot?” Kape said. “Hey [UFC CBO] Hunter Campbell, you know I’m the best. I just stopped a guy with a 17 [fight] win streak. Everybody was scared to fight him. You guys really thought that I’m scared to fight him because I’m a wrestler? I can wrestle, I can stand with anyone in this division. I’m the best. I’m the ‘Starboy.’
“Pay attention Pantoja, Kai Kara-France, whatever — who’s next to fight against me, be ready, because I’m going to steal that belt like I stole candies from my daughter.”
Kape (21-7) established his advantage on the feet from the opening bell, darting in and out of range and catching Almabayev (21-3) with an array of long, precise punches. Kape, 31, opened a cut under Almabayev’s left eye in the closing moments of the first round, then continued to find success in the second and the third, overwhelming Almabayev, 31, with strikes and easily fending off all six of Almabayev’s takedown attempts.
Kape finally closed the show with a salvo of unanswered knees, standing elbows and stiff punches, prompting Almabayev to turn his back and run for safety, only to eat another hard right hand that forced referee Mike Beltran to mercifully step in and stop the action at the 2:16 mark of Round 3.
In the night’s co-main event, middleweight veteran Cody Brundage (11-6, 1 NC) won a wild one-round sprint over Julian Marquez (9-6). After several minutes of back-and-forth brawling, referee Mark Smith stepped in with just 15 seconds left in the opening round as Brundage pummeled Marquez with unanswered punches.
The performance snapped a two-fight winless skid for Brundage, while Marquez suffered his fourth consecutive KO/TKO loss, likely signaling the end of his eight-year run in the UFC.
Catch full UFC Vegas 103 results and highlights of every finish from Saturday’s card below.
Main Card
Flyweight: Manel Kape def. Asu Almabayev via TKO (punches) at 2:16 of Round 3 | Watch finish
Middleweight: Cody Brundage def. Julian Marquez via TKO (punches) at 4:45 of Round 1 | Watch finish
Lightweight: Nasrat Haqparast def. Esteban Ribovics via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
Featherweight: Hyder Amil def. William Gomis via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Welterweight: Sam Patterson def. Danny Barlow via KO (punches) at 3:10 of Round 1 | Watch finish
Preliminary Card
Heavyweight: Mario Pinto def. Austen Lane via KO (punch) at :39 of Round 2 | Watch finish
Featherweight: Chepe Mariscal def. Ricardo Ramos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
148-pound catchweight: Danny Silva def. Lucas Almeida via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
Women’s flyweight: JJ Aldrich def. Andrea Lee via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Flyweight: Ramazan Temirov def. Charles Johnson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
