“Starboy” Shines in Third Straight Win
UFC Vegas 103 delivered tons of excitement, with four fights ending by KO/TKO and a couple of high-paced split decision wars. In the main event, Manel Kape extended his winning streak to three in a row with a third-round TKO of #8 Flyweight Asu Almabayev. This snapped an absurd 17-fight winning streak for Almabayev, a man many believed to be a serious problem in the division.
Kape made it look relatively easy. He was in top form, with his fluid striking on full display. Over 50% of his significant strikes found their mark, as he repeatedly hammered his opponent with hard punches to the head. Perhaps most importantly, his grappling was on point as well. He did not allow a single takedown from Almabayev, denying all six attempts. The fight ended with a ferocious flurry of strikes, as Kape mixed knees and punches to the head and body, before chasing Asu down and landing the final blows.
As crisp as Manel Kape looked, the win does not come without controversy. He landed two eye pokes on Almabayev, which were brushed aside by referee Mike Beltran. The second of these immediately preceded the stoppage. It’s impossible to say whether the outcome would have been any different, but he gained an unfair advantage from the improper officiating. Nevertheless, Kape looked phenomenal. Regardless of the fouls, his performance should put him in line for a title shot in the near future.
Champion Alexandre Pantoja Responds to Manel Kape
Fellow fighters and pundits shared their reactions to the fight, with most lavishing praise on the rising contender. Most notably this included Alexandre Pantoja, who joined via video call for a post-fight interview with Kape in the studio. Following the fight, Pantoja exhibited his typical class, saying:
“Manel and I have a lot of respect for each other. In the past, a lot of people talked bad about the Flyweight division. When you talk about that, you talk about my work, that’s how I feed my family. [Kape tries] to prove to everybody that this division is one of the best.”
He continued:
“Maybe people don’t understand and expect me to start talking s*** about Manel to create something special. But I’m a big fan of Manel. If you have the chance to fight for the belt, it’s gonna be very hard work to train for you.”
However, he was not all cloying praise. Despite his immense respect for Manel Kape, he made clear that he has no intentions of giving up the title easily:
“Now you can feel it, you can come for the title. But I’m here, brother.”
Kape echoed that respect when addressing the champion. However, he also showed confidence in the match-up, saying, “I have nothing but respect for him, he’s a good man. But when it comes to the title, I have to take that, I have to feed my daughters as well. So Pantoja, be ready.”
Praise and Criticism for Manel Kape
Other figures from around the sport also chimed in to make their thoughts known after UFC Vegas 103. See their reactions below:
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
