There was a definite "Groundhog Day" feel to proceedings this week for Manel Kape. The Angolan flyweight's fight with the division's number-one-ranked contender Brandon Royval fell through when Royval announced that he had picked up an injury, marking the tenth occasion that Kape has had a fight cancelled since he signed with the UFC back in 2020.
Kape (20-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC) has been at fault for some of those cancelled bouts, having struggled to make weight, but has also been let down on numerous occasions by opponents having weight issues and health scares of their own, and the 31-year-old must have thought that lightning was striking yet again when Royval had to bail out of their main event match up which is scheduled for March 1st.
With 125 lb champion Alexandre Pantoja having effectively cleared out the flyweight division, it had been rumored that the winner of the Kape vs. Royval matchup could be in line for the next shot at Pantoja's belt.
Less than 24 hours after news broke of Royval's cancellataion however, it has emerged that the UFC matchmakers have moved quickly to secure a new opponent for Kape.
Asu Almabayev (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC), who had originally been booked to face Allan Nascimento on the same card, has been bumped up to the headline slot to face Kape.The former Brave Combat Federation star made his UFC debut in August of 2023 when he submitted Ode Osbourne, and he went on to rack up a trio of decision victories in 2024 over CJ Vergara, Jose Johnson and Matheus Nicolau.
Almabayev is currently sitting 8th in the UFC flyweight rankings, two places below Kape, and with the division crying out for new contenders in the wake of Mohammad Mokaev's departure from the promotion in 2024, an impressive performance and result against an established contender such as Manel Kape could slingshot the Khazak star into the title discussion.
