Asu
Almabayev will get a different matchup than originally
anticipated at UFC
Vegas 103.
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The promotion initially announced that Almabayev would lock horns
with former flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg
at the March 1 event. However, the Kazakhstan native will instead
lock horns with Allan
Nascimento on the same card. The new pairing was confirmed by
UFC broadcast partner ESPN on its event page. Erceg has reportedly
been moved to the UFC Mexico City card to face Brandon
Moreno on March 29, but that booking has not been formally
announced.
Almabaev has kicked off his promotiona tenure with four consecutive
triumphs. He concluded a 3-0 2024 campaign with a three-round
verdict over Matheus
Nicolau at UFC Fight Night 245 this past October. The Brave
Combat Federation veteran has won 17 straight professional outings
dating back to September 2017.
After dropping his Octagon debut against Tagir
Ulanbekov, Nascimento has rebounded to post back-to-back
triumphs over Jake Hadley
and Carlos
Hernandez in UFC competition. The 33-year-old
Chute Boxe Diego Lima representative has finished 14 of his 20
professional triumphs by way of submission.
UFC Vegas 103 — also known as UFC Fight Night 254 — takes place at
the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a flyweight scrap
pitting Brandon
Royval against Manel Kape.