Tag: Asu Almabayev

Manel Kape is shrugging off the debate surrounding his knockout victory against Asu Almabayev.

Earlier this month at UFC Vegas 103, Kape put on a striking clinic, overwhelming Almabayev with speed and aggression before sealing the deal with a third-round TKO in the main event at UFC APEX.

However, in the aftermath of the fight, controversy swirled as broadcast replays revealed “Starboy” scraping Almabayev’s eye not once but twice — first in the second round, then again in the third. Despite the apparent foul, referee Mike Beltran didn’t catch the infraction in real time, allowing the action to continue.

Days after the bout, “Zulfikar” took to social media and shared a shocking image of his reddened, swollen eye, alleging it was the result of the uncalled foul. However, the outspoken Portuguese striker refuses to take the blame.

During a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Manel Kape dismissed the criticism, insisting that Almabayev’s eye was already compromised from the very first punch he landed — not from what he describes as an accidental strike.

“Against Asu, his eye became like that, it was the first punch,” Kape said. “It was the first punch that hit him. If you guys watch the fight very carefully and watch the first round, when I got the punch, immediately his eye was already destroyed.”

Aside from the eye poke controversy, Kape dominated the fight, effortlessly shutting down Almabayev’s takedown attempts. “Starboy” also voiced his frustration, stating that some fans are fixating on the foul in an attempt to discredit his victory, but he refuses to let it shake him.

“It was not an eye poke that made the fight, that finished the fight,” Manel Kape said. “I was beating him. People go and find excuses because it was me. People want to find an excuse. There’s a type of fighters that get a lot of hate. This is a special fighters, the champions, they always talk about them and they want to criticize them. I know I’m one of the people that get a lot of hate but when you’re winning, when you become a champion, they want to be on your side.”

With his victory over “Zulfikar,” Kape has improved his UFC record to 6-3, boasting four knockout wins along the way. His last setback came at UFC 304 this past July, where he suffered a unanimous decision loss to Muhammad Mokaev.

Manel Kape finds himself facing a new challenger for his UFC Fight Night main event after his originally scheduled bout fell through.

Kape was originally slated to clash with former UFC flyweight title challenger Brandon Royval in the headlining bout of a Fight Night card on March 1 at the Apex in Las Vegas. However, “Starboy” suddenly found himself without an opponent on Wednesday after Royval withdrew due to an undisclosed injury.

According to a recent report from Sportilinet, Kape is now set to battle Asu Almabayev on March 1. The update was also confirmed by MMA journalist Marcel Dorff on X.

Almabayev had been lined up to face Allan Nascimento on the same card but stepped up on short notice for the main event opportunity. Meanwhile, it remains uncertain whether Nascimento will stay on the lineup.

“Starboy” is fresh off a third-round knockout win over Bruno Silva at UFC Tampa this past December. His momentum, however, was briefly derailed last July at UFC 304 when Muhammad Mokaev snapped his four-fight winning streak. Kape currently boasts a 6-3 record in the UFC, with five of those victories coming by way of knockout.

On the other hand, “Zulfikar” last entered the Octagon at a Fight Night event in October, where he earned a unanimous decision win over Matheus Nicolau. Since making his UFC debut in August 2023, he has remained undefeated across four appearances.