This past Saturday in the main event of UFC Vegas 103, we saw a big time matchup in the flyweight division. Manel Kape (21-7) was looking to continue his run towards a title shot as he took on Asu Almabayev (21-3) who entered Saturday night with a 17-fight win streak.
Almabayev was originally targeted to face Steve Erceg and then Allen Nascimento while Kape was supposed to face Brandon Royval. Royval suffered an injury and Erceg was moved to the Mexico card to face Brandon Moreno which led us to this main event between Kape and Almabayev.
Almabayev had a really tough time getting going on Saturday night. He really didn’t have an answer for the speed and explosion of Manel Kape. Now, he did suffer a few eye pokes in the third and final round which really hindered him and contributed to him getting finished. However, despite those, he never got going and I didn’t see any path to victory for him with the way the fight was unfolding at UFC Vegas 103.
What’s next after UFC Vegas 103?
As mentioned above, Almabayev had won 17 straight entering Saturday night and despite the loss to Kape, he’s still ranked 9th in the flyweight division. I don’t think he loses a ton from this fight on Saturday night, but this next fight for him will really determine how things will go from here.
I think the UFC could go in a couple of different directions for Almabayev. If they want him to be a test for someone climbing in the rankings, a next fight for Almabayev could be 13th ranked Ramazan Temirov. Temirov has won 11 in a row and on Saturday he defeated Charles Johnson who had a winning streak going himself.
That could be one option for Almabayev. Another option could be 10th ranked Tim Elliot. Elliot is a former title challenger but he hasn’t fought since 2023. He’s competing in an upcoming grappling event on Fight Pass so perhaps he could come back to face a fellow grappler in Almabayev.
Speaking of former UFC title challengers, Alex Perez could be another option. Like Almabayev, Perez’s last win came over Matheus Nicolau. Perez suffered a knee injury in his last fight against Tatsuro Taira so upon his return, a fight with Almabayev could make a lot of sense.