Flyweight Contender States His Claim for a Title Shot After Impressive KO Win
With UFC 313 on the horizon, the UFC makes one final stop to the Apex for UFC Fight Night: Manel Kape vs. Asu Almabayev. A potential number one contender fight between two flyweights who have yet to face the reigning champion Alexandre Pantoja. Will Kape finally make his statement to fight for the title or will Almabayev extend his win streak to 18 straight wins? I will recap the main event and what should be next for each fighter.
Both fighters came out fainting trying to feel each other out. Kape landed a quick and powerful left hand that clipped Almabayev. Kape is walking down Asu landed combinations over and over. Kape landed a huge right hook that cut Almabayev's left eye. Kape looked extremely locked in throughout round one and his constant striking pressure is going to be a real problem for Almabayev, who has to try and figure out. Almabayev tried to mix things up to start round two with trying to wrestle but Kape’s takedown defense is immaculate so far. Kape is picking his shots and when he throws he lands at a more effective rate than Almabayev who is throwing more combinations but isn’t landing clean. Kape opened up at the end of the round two that probably secured another round. Kape is on the gas in round three and doing serious damage. He walked Almabayev down and was able to open up and get the knockout victory, ending Almabayev's 17 straight win streak.
Manel Kape looked amazing once again and he completely shut down Almabayev in every round. He has set himself up for a chance to rematch the current Flyweight Champion Alexandre Pantoja in his next fight. Alexandre Pantoja has run through the flyweight division as he has recently defeated Steve Erceg at UFC 301 and Kai Asakura at UFC 310. I think that would be an exciting stylist rematch. Kape’s takedown defense has been incredible in his last few fights and his constant pressure and quickness would give Pantoja a lot of problems. As for Asu Almabayev, I believe he should fight the loser of Steve Erceg vs. Brandon Moreno. This was his first big fight in the UFC and he looked inexperienced and overmatched, but the more tough fights he is in, the better he will become moving forward. We will see what's next for both fighters and if Manel Kape has finally done enough to challenge for the Flyweight Championship.
