Kape vs Almabayev

Who won Kape vs Almabayev?

Manel Kape beat Asu Almabaev by knockout in the 3rd round during the main event of UFC Fight Night, on Saturday 1st March 2025 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 5 rounds in the Flyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 125 pounds (8.9 stone or 56.7 KG).

Kape vs Almabayev stats

Manel Kape stepped into the octagon with a record of 20 wins, 7 losses and 0 draws, 12 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 5 by submission.

Asu Almabaev made his way to the cage with a record of 21 wins, 2 losses and 0 draws, 3 of those wins coming by knock out and 9 by submission.

This was Manel Kape's 9th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2021. Asu Almabaev marked his 5th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2023.

Manel Kape's UFC record stood at 6-3-0, while Asu Almabaev's came in at 4-1-0.

The stats suggested Kape had a massive power advantage over Almabaev, boasting a 60% knock out percentage over Almabaev's 14%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Almabaev had an advantage over Kape, with a 43% submission rate over Kape's 25%.

Manel Kape was the same age as Asu Almabaev, at 31 years old.

Kape was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 4 more fights, and made his debut in 2012, 1 year earlier than Almabaev, whose first professional fight was in 2013. He had fought 6 more professional rounds, 64 to Almabaev's 58.

Kape vs Almabayev form

Kape had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going to the judges twice.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Asu Almabaev at UFC Fight Night: Kape vs. Almabayev on 1st March 2025 by knockout in the 3rd round at UFC Apex, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had beaten Bruno Silva at UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Buckley on 14th December 2024 by knockout in the 3rd round at Amalie Arena, Tampa.

Going into that contest, he had lost to Muhammad Mokaev at UFC 304 – Manchester on 27th July 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Co-op Live Arena, Manchester, United Kingdom.

Before that, he had defeated Felipe dos Santos at UFC 293 on 9th September 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia.

He was victorious against David Dvorak at UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Strickland on 17th December 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC Apex, Las Vegas, United States.

Asu Almabaev had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had been beaten by Manel Kape at UFC Fight Night: Kape vs. Almabayev on 1st March 2025 by knockout in the 3rd round at UFC Apex, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had won against Matheus Nicolau at UFC Fight Night: Pereira vs. Hernandez on 19th October 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC Apex, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Jose Johnson at UFC Fight Night: Perez vs. Taira on 15th June 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC Apex, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had defeated C.J. Vergara at UFC 299 on 9th March 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Kaseya Center, Miami.

He was victorious against Ode Osbourne at UFC Fight Night – Sandhagen vs. Font on 5th August 2023 by submission in the 2nd round at Bridgestone Arena, Nashville.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Asu Almabaev had been fighting more than Manel Kape.

Going to this contest, Manel Kape had last fought 2 months and 5 days ago, while Asu Almabaev's last outing had been 2 months and 5 days ago.

Kape's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 4 months and 19 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 5 months and 23 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 15 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3 rounds on average.

Almabaev's last 5 fights had come over a period of 1 year, 9 months and 1 day, meaning he had been fighting on average every 4 months and 8 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 14 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.8 rounds on average.

What time did Kape vs Almabayev start?

The fighters were expected to walk out at around 2:10 AM UTC , which was 9:10 PM EST or 6:10 PM PST on the West Coast of America, or 2:10 AM GMT in the UK.

What were the odds on Kape vs Almabayev?

Manel Kape was a 9/20 (-220) favourite going into the contest, while Asu Almabaev made his way into the ring at 9/5 (+180) with oddsmakers.