Angola’s Kape claims controversial win

Angolan MMA fighter Manel Kape has established himself as a top contender for the flyweight championship after a controversial win over Asu Almabayev in the main event of a UFC Fight Night at the Apex Facility in Las Vegas on the morning of Sunday 2 March 2025.

Kape put up a strong showing through the first two rounds, outstriking his opponent in the first, and landing a brutal knee in the second which nearly ended the fight.

Controversy came into the equation via an eye poke from Kape that was caused by an open-handed strike that wasn’t picked up by the referee, Mike Beltran.

The fight ended in the third round with Almabayev seemingly having an issue seeing out of the same eye and calling for a time out. He was ignored, went for a takedown, and Kape was able to force a stoppage with a flurry of strikes.

In his post-fight interview, Kape sent a message to both flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja and Kai Kara-France (who will meet in a title fight, scheduled for June), claiming that he will come to “steal” the belt from whoever the holder is.

“Pay attention Pantoja and Kai Kara-France… Be ready, because I’m gonna steal that belt like I steal candy from my daughter,” said Kape, who became the first man to defeat Almabayev in a professional MMA match since 2017.

The rest of the main card results featured a first-round TKO for Cody Brundage over Julian Marquez in the middleweight division; Nasrat Haqparast got the better of fellow lightweight Esteban Ribovics via split decision; Hyder Amil got the better of William Gomis in the featherweight division, also by split decision; and the welterweight opener brought a first-round KO win for Sam Patterson over Danny Barlow.

Next week brings UFC 313 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on the morning of Sunday 9 March, headlined by a match for the light heavyweight championship between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev.

UFC Fight Night: Kape vs. Almabayev – Main card results

Main event: Flyweight: Manel Kape def. Asu Almabayev via TKO (retirement), R3, 2:16

Middleweight: Cody Brundage def. Julian Marquez via TKO (punches), R1, 4:45

Lightweight: Nasrat Haqparast def. Esteban Ribovics via split decision (29-28 28-29 29-28), R3, 5:00

Featherweight: Hyder Amil def. William Gomis via split decision (29-28 28-29 29-28), R3, 5:00

Welterweight: Sam Patterson def. Danny Barlow via KO (punches), R1, 3:10