A fight many had looked at as a possible UFC flyweight title eliminator is off, and a new opponent has been found for Manel Kape.
Brandon Royval was to have faced Kape at a UFC Fight Night event on March 1, 2025. However, due to injury, Royval has been forced out of the event. The former title challenger announced the news on Instagram on Wednesday.
“Unfortunately I’m going to have to pull out of my fight, I’m sorry to Manel Kape and my fans,” Royval wrote in a post that included the event poster with an X drawn through it. “I’m facing an injury that has me questioning when I’ll be able to train again. This is absolutely a fight I think needs to happen for the flyweight division but as of right now competing month has been ill advised. Love y’all and I apologize from the bottom of my heart. I’ll have more details on my YouTube this week.”
None of that sounds particularly good, and will be a grave disappointment to fans, who have responded well to the rebuilt UFC flyweight division. Currently, champ Alexandre Pantoja is coming off a win over RIZIN star Kai Asakura. The Brazilian does not currently have a title defense scheduled.
Luckily, the UFC has quickly found a new opponent for Kape. In what is expected to be the new five-round main event for UFC Vegas 103, “Starboy” will now face Asu Almabayev. The 31-year old from Kazakhstan has not lost since 2017, and has won his first four fights under the UFC banner.
Sportilinet was first to report news of the new headliner.
Set for the Apex in Las Vegas, the UFC’s March 1, 2025 Fight Night event currently features the following match-ups:
- Manel Kape vs. Asu Almabayev
- Cody Brundage vs. Julian Marquez
- Nasrat Haqparast vs. Esteban Ribovics
- Austen Lane vs. Mário Pinto
- Hyder Amil vs. William Gomis
- Ricardo Ramos vs. Chepe Mariscal
- Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. John Castañeda
- Andrea Lee vs. JJ Aldrich
- Danny Barlow vs. Sam Patterson
- Montana De La Rosa vs. Luana Carolina
- Danny Silva vs. Lucas Almeida
- Charles Johnson vs. Ramazan Temirov
