The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to the APEX Center in Las Vegas, Nev. to host its fifth straight weekend event. Fans around the world saw No. 6 ranked flyweight Manel Kape take on popular up-and-comer Asu Almabayev in a five-round main event bout. The co-main event presented a three-round Middleweight fight between Cody Brundage and veteran Julian Marquez. The main card also featured names like Esteban Ribovics and William Gomis. Rising stars Hyder Amil, Ramazan Temirov and Sam Patterson were all able to put their names on the map this weekend with huge wins.
With only a small 10-fight card and barely any big names, fans were already deeming the event as one of the worst cards of the year. However, four fights ended by KO/TKO, including both the main and co-main events. Meanwhile the other six fights went to the judges’ scorecards, with three of the six ending in a split decision. Once again, I will be discussing some of the best knockout wins from this past weekend.
Austen Lane vs. Mario Pinto
This heavyweight bout was the last prelim before the main card, and it did not disappoint. The former NFL Defensive End turned pro-fighter, Austen Lane, took on undefeated Portugal native Mario Pinto in a three-round brawl.
Lane was coming off a huge unanimous decision win over former UFC fighter Robelis Despaigne, while Pinto was making his UFC Fight Night debut. Pinto had just recently earned himself a contract after a first-round knockout over Lucas Camacho during season eight of Dana White’s Contender Series. He came into this fight a -600 favorite with a 9-0 record.
Both of these athletes have a history of knockout wins; Lane has a career total of 11 to Pinto’s six. As the first round began, these two giants wasted no time trading blows with each other. Lane was able to out-strike the heavyweight prospect throughout the first five minutes, while also scoring a knockdown during the round. As the second round began the two heavyweights wasted no time, exchanging strikes immediately. It only took 39 seconds into round two for Pinto to throw a huge one-two combination, connecting with a big right hook, knocking Lane out cleanly. No further work was needed. Pinto improved to 10-0, winning his debut fight in brutal fashion.
Cody Brundage vs. Julian Marquez
Julian Marquez came into this fight riding a three-fight losing streak all by the means of knockout. Cody Brundage on the other hand was coming off of a submission loss to wrestling prodigy Bo Nickal at UFC 300, along with a No Contest against Abdul Razak Alhassan in July 2024. Both fighters were looking to get back into the win column this past Saturday and were willing to do anything.
As the fight began, Brundage and Marquez took immediate action, exchanging on the feet. Brundage had 44 significant strikes, with a total of 68 strikes landed. Marquez had a total of 53 strikes landed, with 37 being counted as significant. With a minute left in the round, Brundage was up against the cage trading bombs with Marquez. Both their mouth guards would end up falling out of their mouths, which led referee Mark Smith to call time with 46 seconds left in the round. Some fans argued it was a questionable time to stop the fight when the two were in a heated exchange, but nevertheless Smith made his decision. As the two regained their mouthguards, the fight resumed. Brundage wasted no time throwing a huge uppercut followed by a barrage of hooks. A huge right sent Marquez to the mat, Brundage quickly hopped on top of Marquez to deliver some vicious ground and pound to end the fight.
Manel Kape vs. Asu Almabayev
Kape was coming off a dominant performance against ranked flyweight Bruno Silva, which saw him put on a beautiful striking demonstration, along with a KO/TKO win over Silva. After his fight with Silva, he called out a handful of people, leading him to a fight with No. 1 contender Brandon Royval. However, Royval had to pull out of this fight due to an undisclosed injury, leading to the No. 8 contender Almabayev getting the call to step in.
Almabayev stepped into this main event on a 17-fight win streak, following a recent win against Matheus Nicolau via unanimous decision. The Kazakhstani became the first fighter from his country to headline a UFC fight card.
Kape and Almabayev were scheduled in the octagon for a five-round shift, but it ended up getting cut short in the third. Kape once again put on an amazing performance striking wise plus some amazing takedown defense during his battle with Almabayev. After being doubted by fans for his ability to get taken down, he stepped up during this fight, showing how good he can be. Almabayev went 0-6 on takedowns during this fight, while also getting out struck. After stuffing yet another takedown halfway during round three, Kape delivered a series of body shots, knees and hooks to Almabayev. This led him to run around the cage in an attempt to get free. However, Kape hit him with a right hook during the chase, which led to referee Mike Beltran calling to stop the contest. Kape won by knockout, and fans around the world can only assume he will soon have a rematch with the flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja soon.