It’s still a main event for Manel Kape at UFC Fight Night 253. It just might be not as significant as originally expected.
In the wake of Brandon Royval’s withdrawal, the UFC has landed on replacing him with Asu Almabayev, who will make his first headlining appearance March 1 at the UFC Apex in what will be the biggest opportunity of his career.
Two people with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie on Thursday. They requested anonymity as the UFC has yet to make an official announcement.
The fight between Royval, a former title challenger, and Kape was considered by many to be a title eliminator, with both men seeking a shot at flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja. Those same stakes might no longer be in place for Kape vs. Almabayev.
Almabayev (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) had been slated to fight Allan Nascimento at UFC Fight Night 253 before he shifted to the main event. His past three victories have all been decisions to follow up a submission of Ode Osbourne in his UFC debut in August 2023.
With the change, the UFC Fight Night 253 lineup includes:
- Manel Kape vs. Asu Almabayev
- Cody Brundage vs. Julian Marquez
- Hyder Amil vs. William Gomis
- Nasrat Haqparast vs. Esteban Ribovics
- Austen Lane vs. Mario Pinto
- Luana Carolina vs. Montana De La Rosa
- Danny Barlow vs. Sam Patterson
- JJ Aldrich vs. Andrea Lee
- Charles Johnson vs. Ramazan Temirov
- John Castaneda vs. Douglas Silva de Andrade
- Chepe Mariscal vs. Ricardo Ramos
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