“Eye Pokes Are the Greatest Threat to the Growth of This Sport” — Fighters React to UFC Vegas 103 Headliner

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Asu Almabayev and Manel Kape, UFC Vegas 103
Credit: UFC/ESPN

Henry Cejudo, himself the victim of a fight-ending eye poke just a week ago at UFC Seattle, did not mince words in the aftermath of Saturday’s UFC Vegas 103 main event.

“Eye pokes are the greatest threat to the growth of this sport (unbiased),” Cejudo, a former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion, wrote on social media following the event.

Saturday’s headliner between Manel Kape and Asu Almabayev started out fast and furious, and never truly slowed down. Yet it was marred by uncalled fouls, as in both the second and third rounds, Almabayev appeared to have his eye grazed by Kape’s fingers.

In round two, the action was halted after Asu Almabayev complained, with Kape voluntarily backing off. Referee Mike Beltran turned to the review official for assistance, who ruled no foul had transpired. The action started back up almost as soon as it had stopped, mere seconds later. Yet the UFC’s own replay showed that Kape’s “punch” had been open handed, and it did appear that Kape’s fingers had grazed Almabayev’s eye.

The eye poke in round three, which led to the finish, was far more obvious, except to the ref, who did not catch it. Another open-handed graze had Almabayev wincing and motioning for a time out. When it wasn’t forthcoming, he turned tail and fled. Turning your back on an opponent is an easy way to bring about an end to a fight, and with Kape chasing him down and throwing, Beltran quickly stepped in to wave the affair off.

Regardless of the fouls, Kape was well ahead in the fight, and looked dominant. Here’s how some of “Starboy’s” fellow fighters reacted to UFC Vegas 103’s flyweight main event:

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