Tag: UFC Vegas 103

Report: Ex-Title Challenger Steve Erceg Booked For UFC Return, Faces Prospect On 17-Fight Winning Streak

Former UFC flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg will seemingly need to stall the surge of a highly touted up-and-comer if he’s to return to winning ways this year. While Erceg’s (12-3) year started out well with a brutal knockout win over Matt Schnell to remain undefeated in the UFC and further climb the ladder, he […]

Former UFC flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg will seemingly need to stall the surge of a highly touted up-and-comer if he’s to return to winning ways this year.

While Erceg’s (12-3) year started out well with a brutal knockout win over Matt Schnell to remain undefeated in the UFC and further climb the ladder, he finished 2024 on a losing skid.

After a narrow defeat to Alexandre Pantoja in his surprise May title shot at UFC 301, “AstroBoy” failed to rebound three months later on home soil, with Kai Kara-France instead finding a quick finish to put his name back into the championship conversation.

With back-to-back losses on his record, Erceg will be fighting slightly further down pecking order next time out. And the man looking to extend his woes in the cage at the UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas on March 1 will reportedly be Asu Almabayev (21-2).

The news was first reported by @darteam.kazakhstan on Instagram before being corroborated by known Australian MMA insider Benny P.

Almabayev has established himself as one to watch at 125 pounds since joining the UFC from Brave CF in 2023. The Kazakh fighter has reeled off four wins in the Octagon, most recently outpointing Matheus Nicolau to ascend to #8 in the rankings and extend his winning streak to 17.

With this addition, the current fights expected to take place at the UFC Fight Night on March 1 are as follows:

  • Brandon Royval vs. Manel Kape (flyweight main event)
  • Steve Erceg vs. Asu Almabayev (flyweight)
  • William Gomis vs. Lucas Almeida (featherweight)
  • Nasrat Haqparast vs. Esteban Ribovics (lightweight)
  • Danny Barlow vs. Sam Patterson (welterweight)
  • Cody Brundage vs. Julian Marquez (middleweight)
  • Montana De La Rosa vs. Luana Carolina (women’s flyweight)
  • Lucas Almeida vs. Danny Silva (featherweight)

Brandon Royval Calls For Venue Change After Crucial Manel Kape Fight Announced For UFC Apex

UFC flyweight contender Brandon Royval believes the magnitude of his next fight lends itself to a better environment than the Apex. 2024 was a successful year for the #1-ranked Royval, who entered it off the back of a disappointing performance in his title challenge against Alexandre Pantoja last December. First, a short-notice opportunity to run […]

UFC flyweight contender Brandon Royval believes the magnitude of his next fight lends itself to a better environment than the Apex.

2024 was a successful year for the #1-ranked Royval, who entered it off the back of a disappointing performance in his title challenge against Alexandre Pantoja last December.

First, a short-notice opportunity to run it back with Brandon Moreno in Mexico arose, and “Raw Dawg” made the most of it by outpointing the former champion. And eight months later, Royval returned to a win streak by turning away the charge of Japan’s Tatsuro Taira.

With that, the 32-year-old is firmly back within the championship conversation at 125 pounds. And to earn another chance at the gold, Royval must now get past Manel Kape.

The pair were recently announced as the headliners for the March 1 UFC Fight Night at the Apex in Las Vegas. Like his win over Taira, the clash is currently slated to take place with a limited crowd at the low-capacity Apex facility in Las Vegas.

But given the likely title stakes — not to mention both men’s ability to put on a show inside the Octagon — Royval thinks that should change…

“Kape and I is a dope ass fight,” he wrote on X. “We should make this happen in front of an audience.”

For “Starboy,” the bout offers the chance for him to secure a first title shot on MMA’s biggest stage. The former Rizin champ originally called his shot for a rematch versus Pantoja next year after a dominant victory over Bruno Silva in Tampa earlier this month.

But after Dana White was quick to dismiss that as a possibility, Kape now has his next assignment in the calendar, as he looks to wrest Royval’s top contender status away in 2025 en route to the flyweight throne.

Manel Kape Misses Out On Title Shot, Faces Top Contender In UFC Fight Night Main Event

Manel Kape’s recent performance will not earn him a UFC flyweight title shot — at least not yet. He may, however, be one fight away from getting such. Per Ag. Fight, Kape’s next fight has already been booked, as he will take on former title challenger Brandon Royval in the main event of a UFC […]

Manel Kape’s recent performance will not earn him a UFC flyweight title shot — at least not yet. He may, however, be one fight away from getting such.

Per Ag. Fight, Kape’s next fight has already been booked, as he will take on former title challenger Brandon Royval in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card at the APEX on March 1, 2025.

Kape competed on last week’s UFC Tampa card, taking out Bruno Silva in a highlight TKO. The result marked “Starboy’s” fifth win in his last six fights and helped him bounce back from a loss in his dlackluster outing with Muhammad Mokaev at UFC 304 earlier this year.

Manel Kape vs. Brandon Royval Targeted For March 1 UFC Fight Night

Royval is on a similar path, having defeated former champion Brandon Moreno and the highly touted Tatsuro Taira in his two 2024 fights. His sole loss in recent times was an unsuccessful challenge of current flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 296. “Raw Dawg” also lost to Pantoja in their initial 2021 meeting.

Pantoja, meanwhile , successfully defended the title against former RIZIN champion Kai Asakura in the Japanese star’s UFC debut earlier this month at UFC 310.