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Fight By Fight Preview | UFC Fight Night: Kape vs Almabayev
Surveying The Landscape Of Saturday’s Action-Packed Event At The UFC APEX
By E. Spencer Kyte, on X @spencerkyte
Have you ever been fortunate enough to stumble into an impromptu club show by a great artist or band? Or been in the audience when a stand-up megastar decided to pop in to work on their set at the local comedy spot on a Tuesday night?
Those nights are memorable because while you went out seeking entertainment and expecting to have a good time, there was no expectation that you were about to have a killer night that leaves you with a handful of really cool stories to share with your friends in the future. Here you thought it was just going to be another night at your favorite spot and next thing you know, City and Colour is playing an acoustic set for you and 47 others.
That’s how I have come to think of event’s like this weekend’s return to the UFC APEX: sitting down to take in the action, I know I’m going to have a good time, get treated to some quality fights, and that there is a solid possibility that something unexpectedly awesome happens that leaves me and everyone else in the MMA bubble gobsmacked and gabbing about it on social media for the next couple days.
So let’s dive into this weekend’s fight card and see if we can’t suss out who might leave us picking our jaws up off the floor.
Main Event Matchup: Manel Kape vs Asu Almabayev
Manel Kape and Asu Almabayev face off in a clash of Top 10 flyweights looking to stake their claim to a championship opportunity in Saturday’s highly intriguing main event.
Kape returns to action for the first time since his electric third-round stoppage win over Bruno Silva and the memorable post-fight interview that followed. That night in Tampa, “StarBoy” reminded everyone why he was viewed as a legitimate title threat from the minute he first touched down in the UFC, and instantly put himself right back into the thick of the title conversation.
Almabayev has quietly posted four straight wins to begin his UFC tenure, running his overall winning streak to 17 in the process. After working his way through Dana White’s Contender Series alums Ode’ Osbourne, CJ Vergara, and Jose Johnson, the 31-year-old from Kazakhstan outworked Matheus Nicolau last time out, claiming the third round on all three scorecards to garner the biggest win of his career.
While both men have always been targeting this March 1 date as the kickoff to their 2025 campaigns, Kape was initially penciled in opposite Brandon Royval, while Almabayev was first tabbed to face Steve Erceg, and then Allan Nascimento. The re-shuffling delivers a fascinating fight where lingering questions about Kape’s consistency and Almabayev’s ability to hang with the best in the division should be answered.
There are a number of critical flyweight matchups on the calendar in the coming months, beginning with this one, and a dominant showing on either side could establish the victor as the clubhouse leader in the chase for the next championship opportunity.
Additional Main Card Contests
Cody Brundage vs Julian Marquez
Middleweight stalwarts from strong teams occupy the co-main event position this weekend as Factory X representative Cody Brundage squares off with the MMA Lab’s Julian Marquez.
The 30-year-old Brundage has had a rather unique UFC career thus far, going 4-5 with one no contest and being involved in a pair of bouts that were halted early when he was struck by illegal blows to the back of the head. He’s an “all or nothing” fighter, as all but three of his 17 career appearances have ended inside the distance, and after going without a victory last year, you can be sure Brundage is itching to get his hand raised again this weekend.
Marquez steps in for recent TUF winner Ryan Loder here, looking to snap a three-fight slide. A member of the inaugural graduating class on Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS), injuries have limited the 34-year-old to just seven appearances inside the Octagon, which have produced a 3-4 record with all but one of those bouts ending inside the distance.
This one profiles as a bout where someone gets finished, and it should be all kinds of fun for as long as it lasts.
Nasrat Haqparast vs Esteban Ribovics
Nasrat Haqparast and Esteban Ribovics share the Octagon this weekend in a battle of lightweights looking to continue their push towards the Top 15.
Still only 29 years old, Haqparast makes his first start of 2025 on a four-fight winning streak, having edged out Jared Gordon in an ultra-competitive contest in Saudi Arabia last summer in his lone outing of 2024. Technically sound, but also happy to bite down on his gum shield and sling leather from time-to-time, the Moroccan-based lightweight is 6-2 over his last eight outings, and heads into action this weekend looking for his 10th UFC victory.
Ribovics was one of the low-key breakout stars of last year, following up his rapid knockout win over Terrance McKinney in May by teaming with Daniel Zellhuber to deliver one of the most entertaining fights of the year at UFC 306, where he edged out his Mexican counterpart on the scorecards. He’s now won three straight since dropping his promotional debut, and profiles as a dangerous and aggressive dark horse in the lightweight division.
Making serious headway in the 155-pound ranks is certainly challenging, but each of these men arrive in Las Vegas with a ton of momentum. A fifth straight win for Haqparast or a fourth consecutive victory for Ribovics may not be enough to carry them into the rankings, but it could earn them a date with someone sporting a number next to their name whenever they return later in the year.
Austen Lane vs Mario Pinto
Heavyweight graduates from Dana White’s Contender Series share the Octagon here, as Austen Lane welcomes Mario Pinto to the UFC for the first time.
Just as he needed a couple appearances on the annual talent search series to punch his ticket to the big show, it took Lane a couple tries before he was able to register his first UFC win. Last time out, the former NFL defensive lineman played to his strengths, neutralizing the striking of Robelis Despaigne to grind out a unanimous decision victory over the Cuban knockout artist.
The second promising new heavyweight from last year’s DWCS graduating class to make his debut, Pinto returns to the UFC APEX looking to build on his rapid first-round knockout win over Lucas Camacho in his first official foray into the Octagon. The London-based Portuguese prospect turns 27 next month, is 9-0 as a professional, and, like Tallison Teixeira a couple weeks ago, looks the part of a potential threat in the heavyweight division at the outset of his UFC tenure.
Hyder Amil vs William Gomis
Hyder Amil and William Gomis meet in a matchup between surging featherweights with very different styles on Saturday.
Aptly nicknamed “The Hurricane,” Amil can be a berserker inside the Octagon, as evident by his debut brawl with Fernie Garcia and the multi-strike combo used to put away JeongYeongLee last time out. The 34-year-old Scrap Pack representative is 10-0 as a professional, has only gone the distance twice, and fights like he’s double parked, making him a fascinating sophomore to watch in the 145-pound weight class.
Gomis is the antithesis of his opponent this weekend — a measured, technical counter-fighter who values efficiency above all else. The MMA Factory representative has earned victories in each of his first four UFC appearances and a dozen consecutive appearances overall, with that last setback coming more than seven years ago against fellow UFC featherweight Morgan Charriere.
It’s going to be interesting to see how this one plays out as while they are stylistic opposites, their approaches marry well together, as Amil is happy to go forward, Gomis is content to lay back and counter, and it should lead to a number of entertaining exchanges as these two look to deliver a statement win that moves them further up the divisional ladder.
Preliminary Card Pairings
Ricardo Ramos vs Chepe Mariscal
The preliminary card slate wraps in the featherweight division with what should be a barnburner between Ricardo Ramos and Chepe Marsical.
Ramos, who has been training with the Fighting Nerds this camp, enters off a split decision win over Josh Culibao at UFC 305 and brandishing an 8-5 mark inside the Octagon. The 32-year-old Mariscal has gone 4-0 to begin his UFC tenure, most recently collecting a unanimous decision win over Damon Jackson in August.
Douglas Silva De Andrade vs John Castenada
Brazilian veteran Douglas Silva de Andrade and Minnesota-based John Castaneda meet here in a potentially explosive bantamweight fixture.
A fixture on the roster since 2014, Silva de Andrade carries a 7-6 record inside the Octagon and 29-6 mark overall into his first appearance of the year, seeking to get things moving in the right direction again following a loss to Miles Johns last time out. Castaneda has gone 4-3 in his first seven UFC starts, earning quality wins over Johns and Muin Gafurov, while landing on the wrong side of the scorecards in competitive bouts with Nathaniel Wood and Daniel Marcos.
Andrea Lee vs. JJ Aldrich
Veteran flyweights Andrea Lee and JJ Aldrich bring a combined 28 UFC appearances into their preliminary card battle this weekend in Las Vegas.
The 36-year-old Lee touches down looking to halt a lengthy losing streak where she’s repeatedly gone the distance, but come up short, including dropping a split decision to Montana De La Rosa last time out. Aldrich had her two-fight winning streak snapped in her lone appearance of last year when she fell to Veronica Hardy on the scorecards in May.
Danny Barlow vs. Sam Patterson
DWCS graduates Danny Barlow and Sam Patterson face off in a battle of ascending welterweights looking to continue their march forward in the 170-pound weight class.
Barlow, who punched his ticket to the UFC roster with a first-round stoppage win over Raheam Forest in Season 7, earned a pair of victories in his rookie campaign, collecting a third-round stoppage win of Josh Quinlan and a split decision nod over Nikolay Veretennikov last time out. A member of the Class of ’22, Patterson dropped his debut, but has looked like a new man since moving up to welterweight, earning a pair of first-round submission wins last year to establish himself as a person of interest in his new surroundings.
Montana De La Rosa vs Luana Carolina
Montana De La Rosa and Luana Carolina clash in the first of Saturday’s tandem flyweight bouts on the preliminary card.
De La Rosa snapped a three-fight slide last June, edging out Lee on the scorecards to move her record to 6-5-1 inside the Octagon. The 31-year-old Carolina enters the weekend on the best run of her UFC career, having posted three straight victories and wins in five of her last seven to arrive on the doorstep of the Top 15 in the 125-pound ranks.
Danny Silva vs. Lucas Almeida
Danny Silva and Lucas Almeida clash in a meeting of all-action featherweights with the potential to set the bar for Fight of the Night honors on Saturday.
Silva makes his second appearance inside the Octagon this weekend, looking to build on his split decision win over Josh Culibao last year while showing his weight miss was a one-time issue. The 34-year-old Almeida halted a two-fight slide in his lone appearance of 2024, getting the better of Timmy Cuamba in a competitive clash in the middle of June.
Charles Johnson vs. Ramazan Temirov
Flyweights not only close out the show, but open this weekend’s fight card, as well, as streaking veteran Charles Johnson squares off with promising sophomore Ramazan Temirov.
Johnson posted four wins in 2024, turning aside hopefuls Azat Maksum, Jake Hadley, and Joshua Van before wrapping up a 4-0 campaign with a unanimous decision win over Sumudaerji. Temirov extended his overall winning streak to double digits with a first-round knockout win over CJ Vergara in his promotional debut last October, instantly establishing himself as another name to track in the flyweight division in the process.
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