Manel Kape Turns Back Asu Almabayev in UFC Vegas 103 Main Event

Manel Kape may have cleared the final obstacle between him and a long-sought shot at the Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight crown.

The former Rizin Fighting Federation titleholder was awarded an anticlimactic technical knockout over Asu Almabayev in the third round of their UFC Fight Night 253 main event on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Referee Mike Beltran stepped in to wave it off 2:16 into Round 3, even though Almabayev (21-3, 4-1 UFC) seemed to be lucid and defending himself.

Kape (21-7, 6-3 UFC) was the aggressor from the start. He unleashed lightning-fast punches from odd angles and called upon bulletproof takedown defense against the Kazakhstani grappler. Almabayev—who entered the cage on a 17-fight winning streak—emerged for the second round clearly bothered by the damage he sustained to his left eye. Kape zeroed in on it, sometimes with punches and sometimes with what appeared to be clear fouls—replays showed he raked the eye with open-handed strikes—that went uncalled. Nevertheless, he pinned Almabayev to the fence in the third round and let loose with punches, knees and elbows. Kape gave chase across the cage after his opponent turned his back and fled in retreat, but Beltran chose to intervene before any more punishment could be inflicted.

Meanwhile, Factory X vet Cody Brundage disposed of Julian Marquez with punches in the first round of their back-and-forth middleweight co-headliner. A short-notice substitution for Ryan Loder, Marquez (9-6, 3-5 UFC) succumbed to blows 4:45 into Round 1.

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Brundage peppered the MMA Lab rep with a variety of strikes and flirted with a front choke before they resumed slinging heat in the standup. Marquez sent his counterpart’s mouthpiece flying with a right hand over the top, threatened with a guillotine and swarmed with punches, knees and elbows. Brundage somehow answered. Marquez lost his mouthguard at one point, and after Mark Smith called for a pause to the action so both men could replace their gear, the tide shifted again. A right uppercut from Brundage dazed “The Cuban Missile Crisis,” and a thudding right hand over the top drove him to the canvas. He afforded Marquez no time to recover, flurrying with punches until Smith decided to intervene.

It was the fourth consecutive loss for Marquez.

Further down the main card, Tristar Gym’s Nasrat Haqparast outlasted ex-Samurai Fight House champion Esteban Ribovics to a split decision in a three-round lightweight firefight. All three members of the judiciary struck 29-28 scorecards: Michael Bell and Sal D’Amato for Haqparast, Chris Lee for Ribovics (14-2, 3-2 UFC).

Haqparast (18-5, 10-4 UFC) greeted the Kill Cliff Fight Club export with clean one-twos and targeted the liver repeatedly with rear-leg front kicks to the body. Neither man seemed willing to give ground as the battle moved along. Ribovics answered his adversary’s accuracy with merciless output. They traded punches in the pocket with increasing intensity and made their plays to gain the upper hand. Ribovics connected with two most consequential blows of the match in the third round—a vicious, close-quarters knee strike that opened a cut underneath Haqparast’s left eye and head kick that wobbled him in the waning seconds—but failed to get over the hump with the judges.

The 29-year-old Haqparast has rattled off five straight victories.

Elsewhere, Hyder Amil kept his perfect professional record intact with a split decision over William Gomis in an entertaining three-round featherweight feature. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28: Anthony Maness for Gomis, Bell and Ron McCarthy for Amil (11-0, 3-0 UFC).

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Gomis (14-3, 4-1 UFC) did everything he could to throw the Gilbert Melendez protégé off the scent through the first half of the fight, as he uncorked kicks to the body and legs, close-range knees to the midsection, surgical punching combinations and repeated spinning backfists. Amil refused to go away. He moved forward with a maniacal purpose, walked down Gomis and overwhelmed him with pace. Amil fired hooks to the head and body, countered when opportunities arose and closed with a flourish. He struck for a takedown late in the third round and consolidated it with sustained ground-and-pound, doing enough to curry the requisite favor on the scorecards.

The loss snapped a 12-fight winning streak for Gomis.

Finally, Team Crossface standout Sam Patterson put away the previously undefeated Danny Barlow with punches in the first round of their welterweight appetizer. Patterson (13-2-1, 3-1 UFC) stopped the former Attitude MMA Fight champion 3:10 into Round 1.

Barlow (9-1, 2-1 UFC) controlled the center of the cage for a majority of the encounter and sent more than one sharp left hand crashing into the Englishman’s face. Patterson stayed the course under fire and picked his spots. He answered with a counter right hook that sent Barlow stumbling backward. Patterson gave chase with punches, decked the American with another right hook and pounded away with jackhammer right hands until Beltran had seen enough.

Patterson, 28, has won three fights in a row.

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