Manel
Kape may have cleared the final obstacle between him and a
long-sought shot at the Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight
crown.
The former Rizin Fighting Federation titleholder was awarded an
anticlimactic technical knockout over Asu
Almabayev in the third round of their
UFC Fight Night 253 main event on Saturday at the UFC Apex in
Las Vegas.
Referee Mike Beltran stepped in to wave it off 2:16 into Round 3,
even though Almabayev (21-3, 4-1 UFC) seemed to be lucid and
defending himself.
Advertisement
Kape (21-7, 6-3 UFC) was the aggressor from the start. He unleashed
lightning-fast punches from odd angles and called upon bulletproof
takedown defense against the Kazakhstani grappler. Almabayev—who
entered the cage on a 17-fight winning streak—emerged for the
second round clearly bothered by the damage he sustained to his
left eye. Kape zeroed in on it, sometimes with punches and
sometimes with what appeared to be clear fouls—replays showed he
raked the eye with open-handed strikes—that went uncalled.
Nevertheless, he pinned Almabayev to the fence in the third round
and let loose with punches, knees and elbows. Kape gave chase
across the cage after his opponent turned his back and fled in
retreat, but Beltran chose to intervene before any more punishment
could be inflicted.
Meanwhile, Factory X vet Cody
Brundage disposed of Julian
Marquez with punches in the first round of their back-and-forth
middleweight co-headliner. A short-notice substitution for Ryan Loder,
Marquez (9-6, 3-5 UFC) succumbed to blows 4:45 into Round 1.
Brundage peppered the MMA Lab rep with a variety of strikes and
flirted with a front choke before they resumed slinging heat in the
standup. Marquez sent his counterpart’s mouthpiece flying with a
right hand over the top, threatened with a guillotine and swarmed
with punches, knees and elbows. Brundage somehow answered. Marquez
lost his mouthguard at one point, and after Mark Smith called for a
pause to the action so both men could replace their gear, the tide
shifted again.
A right uppercut from Brundage dazed “The Cuban Missile Crisis,”
and a thudding right hand over the top drove him to the canvas. He
afforded Marquez no time to recover, flurrying with punches until
Smith decided to intervene.
It was the fourth consecutive loss for Marquez.
Further down the main card, Tristar Gym’s Nasrat
Haqparast outlasted ex-Samurai Fight House champion Esteban
Ribovics to a split decision in a three-round lightweight
firefight. All three members of the judiciary struck 29-28
scorecards: Michael Bell and Sal D’Amato for Haqparast, Chris Lee
for Ribovics (14-2, 3-2 UFC).
Haqparast (18-5, 10-4 UFC) greeted the Kill Cliff Fight Club export
with clean one-twos and targeted the liver repeatedly with rear-leg
front kicks to the body. Neither man seemed willing to give ground
as the battle moved along. Ribovics answered his adversary’s
accuracy with merciless output. They traded punches in the pocket
with increasing intensity and made their plays to gain the upper
hand. Ribovics connected with two most consequential blows of the
match in the third round—a vicious, close-quarters knee strike that
opened a cut underneath Haqparast’s left eye and head kick that
wobbled him in the waning seconds—but failed to get over the hump
with the judges.
The 29-year-old Haqparast has rattled off five straight
victories.
Elsewhere, Hyder Amil
kept his perfect professional record intact with a split decision
over William
Gomis in an entertaining three-round featherweight feature. All
three cageside judges scored it 29-28: Anthony Maness for Gomis,
Bell and Ron McCarthy for Amil (11-0, 3-0 UFC).
Gomis (14-3, 4-1 UFC) did everything he could to throw the Gilbert
Melendez protégé off the scent through the first half of the
fight, as he uncorked kicks to the body and legs, close-range knees
to the midsection, surgical punching combinations and repeated
spinning backfists. Amil refused to go away. He moved forward with
a maniacal purpose, walked down Gomis and overwhelmed him with
pace. Amil fired hooks to the head and body, countered when
opportunities arose and closed with a flourish. He struck for a
takedown late in the third round and consolidated it with sustained
ground-and-pound, doing enough to curry the requisite favor on the
scorecards.
The loss snapped a 12-fight winning streak for Gomis.
Finally, Team Crossface standout Sam
Patterson put away the previously undefeated Danny
Barlow with punches in the first round of their welterweight
appetizer.
Patterson (13-2-1, 3-1 UFC) stopped the former Attitude MMA Fight
champion 3:10 into Round 1.
Barlow (9-1, 2-1 UFC) controlled the center of the cage for a
majority of the encounter and sent more than one sharp left hand
crashing into the Englishman’s face. Patterson stayed the course
under fire and picked his spots. He answered with a counter right
hook that sent Barlow stumbling backward. Patterson gave chase with
punches, decked the American with another right hook and pounded
away with jackhammer right hands until Beltran had seen enough.
Patterson, 28, has won three fights in a row.
Continue Reading »
UFC Vegas 103 Prelims: Surging Mariscal Bests Ramos