As writes the portal Vesti.kz, in the first round, the fighters were more cautious, although Kape justified his status as the favorite with his aggression. The Kazakh fighter mostly played defensively and unsuccessfully attempted to take his opponent to the ground.
In the third round, Asu allowed his opponent to dominate, leading the referee to stop the fight: Almaev lost by technical knockout.
STARBOY DOES IT AGAIN! 🤩@ManelKape gets it done in the third! #UFCVegas103 pic.twitter.com/cH7SQZDxMS
— UFC (@ufc) March 2, 2025
Thus, the Portuguese celebrated his 21st victory in his career, with seven losses. Almaev suffered his third defeat against 21 wins.
Prior to this match, Kape was ranked sixth in the UFC flyweight division, while Almaev was eighth. The champion of the division is Brazilian Alexandre Pantoja (29-5).
Almaev became the first Kazakhstani to receive the main event slot at a Dana White tournament.
It is worth noting that in December 2021, Kape finished another Kazakhstani, Zhalgas Zhumagulov, in the first round, who is no longer competing in the world's top league.