What was supposed to be, in theory, a flyweight title eliminator between Manel Kape and Brandon Royval at UFC Vegas 103 changed when, weeks out from the fight, Royval was forced to withdraw due to injury.
In stepped Kazakh Asu Almabayev, a worthy foe but one not quite as highly ranked. Instead, while Kape sits at #5 in the 125lb division, and Royval at #1, Almabayev holds the #8 position – making a win over him (or conversely, a win for Asu over Kape) a harder sell.
Harder, but not impossible mind you. After all, Kai Asakura was granted an immediate title shot upon arrival from RIZIN late last year. Which is to say, with the UFC, anything is very much possible.
Weigh-ins for UFC Vegas 103 get underway at 12PM ET, 9AM PT on Friday, February 28, 2025. Results can be found below.
One fighter, Lucas Almeida, came in heavy at Friday’s official weigh-in, Lucas Almeida. The rest of the card made weight.
UFC Vegas 103: Kape vs. Almabayev Weigh-In Results
Main card
Flyweight: Manel Kape (126) vs. Asu Almabayev (126)
Middleweight: Cody Brundage (186) vs. Julian Marquez (186)
Lightweight: Nasrat Haqparast (156) vs. Esteban Ribovics (1556)
Featherweight: Hyder Amil (146) vs. William Gomis (146)
Welterweight: Danny Barlow (170.5) vs. Sam Patterson (170.5)
Preliminary card
Heavyweight: Austen Lane (249.5) vs. Mário Pinto (246.5)
Featherweight: Ricardo Ramos (146) vs. Chepe Mariscal (146)
Catchweight (140): Douglas Silva de Andrade (140) vs. John Castañeda (140)
Featherweight: Danny Silva (145.5) vs. Lucas Almeida (148)*
Women’s Flyweight: Andrea Lee (126) vs. JJ Aldrich (126)
Flyweight: Charles Johnson (125) vs. Ramazan Temirov (125.5)
Women’s Flyweight: Montana De La Rosa vs. Luana Carolina
* Lucas Almeida missed weight by two pounds for his fight with Danny Silva.
