UFC Fight Night: Kape vs. Almabayev


UFC Fight Night: Kape vs. Almabayev was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 1, 2025, at the UFC Apex in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Valley, United States.

Background

A UFC Flyweight title eliminator between former LFA Flyweight Champion Brandon Royval and former RIZIN Bantamweight Champion Manel Kape was expected to headline the event. However, Royval withdrew due to multiple concussions. He was replaced by Asu Almabayev. Albamayev was originally expected to face former flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg at the event, but the latter was moved to headline UFC on ESPN: Moreno vs. Erceg and replaced by Allan Nascimento. Nascimento was in turn pulled from the event after the latest changes.
A middleweight bout between Cody Brundage and The Ultimate Fighter: Team Grasso vs. Team Shevchenko middleweight winner Ryan Loder was scheduled for this event. However, Loder withdrew from the fight for unknown reasons and was replaced by Julian Marquez.
A women's flyweight bout between Montana De La Rosa and Luana Carolina was scheduled for this event. However, the bout was scrapped as a result of Carolina's botched weight cut.
In addition, a bantamweight bout between Douglas Silva de Andrade and John Castañeda was scheduled for this event. However, despite having the bout changed to a 140 pound catchweight bout, the fight was cancelled as Silva de Andrade did not have medical clearance to compete.
At the weigh-ins, Lucas Almeida weighed in at 148 pounds, two pounds over the featherweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and Almeida was fined 20 percent of his purse which went to his opponent Danny Silva.

Results

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.
  • Fight of the Night: Nasrat Haqparast vs. Esteban Ribovics
  • Performance of the Night: Manel Kape and '''Mário Pinto'''