Athletes
Asu Almabayev Is Ready For His Big Opportunity
Kazakhstan's Rising Flyweight Contender Plans On Turning His Unexpected Main Event Chance Into A Championship Opportunity Later In 2025
With Brandon Royval ruled out of his UFC Vegas 103 main event bout with Manel Kape, Asu Almabayev was handed the opportunity of his career, and the in-form flyweight plans on making the most of it.
Thirty-one-year-old Almabayev has done everything right so far in his UFC career, and the 21-2 contender has won each of his four Octagon appearances to date.
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And, after prepping to face Brazil's Allan Nascimento this weekend, Almayabev heard about Royval's withdrawal from the event and immediately threw his hat in the ring to replace him against Kape.
"Yeah, this is a great opportunity for me," the Almaty native told UFC.com this week.
"I feel great about this. Obviously, I was going to be on the card, and now the card has changed and I got all the way to the top.
"This is something for me to show myself, to be able to show a great fight and then eventually get into the title race. So the biggest thing right now is just to come out, show out, win, and then everything else will fall into place. But I feel great. I feel really lucky.
KAPE VS ALMABAYEV: Fight By Fight Preview | Fighters On The Rise
"I actually was preparing for (Steve) Erceg first, then he fell off. They gave me a Brazilian fighter (Nascimento) and I started preparing for him. And then, when Royval fell off, it was actually me who reached out to my management team and said, 'You know what? Give me this opportunity.'"
Almabayev faces the move up from three rounds to the full five-round duration. But the biggest change is the upgrade in opponent. Nascimento would have offered a stern test, but the explosive Kape has captured titles outside of the UFC and is arguably the most dangerous contender in the 125-pound division today.
Almabayev knows he's facing the toughest test of his career but, as you'd expect from a fighter heading into a bout on a 17-fight win streak, he's confident that he has what it takes to get the job done and gatecrash the flyweight title picture.
"He's a great opponent," he admitted.
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"He's very experienced. He's got good cardio, he's got good striking. He's not better (at) wrestling. But I think that whoever is going to come in there and implement their game plan, who is going to be more mentally prepared, that's the person that's going to win.
"He's had his wins. He's had his ups and downs, losses. I've only been winning so far. I've been very good at that. It just depends on who's going to come out there and be number one, and who's going to say that 'I'm ready for this title.' And I think it's me.
"I need to be here. I deserve to be here. I worked really hard, so I'll show whatever I can and use every second to win."
The opportunity to earn a shot at a UFC title would mean the world to Almabayev, as he and compatriot and welterweight contender Shavkat Rakhmonov, look to bring a championship belt back to Kazakhstan.
"It's every fighter's dream to be from around the world and represent their country here in the UFC – the biggest, toughest promotion in the world," he said.
MAIN EVENT: Manel Kape Interview | Asu Almabayev Interview
"So I'm very honored to do this. This is something that is important for me. This is a huge opportunity for me to hoist my flag in such a huge company."
But the pride in representing his country also brings immense pressure, too, as he explained.
"For Kazakhstan, and really for all the former Soviet countries, people are such huge fanatics of the sport that, if you win the title, you become a national hero, you become praised, you become loved. But if you lose, that's it. They bury you.
"So, we don't have a choice. We need to win. We have to do this for our country, for ourselves and hoist our flag."
Thanks to his short-notice promotion to the main event spot this weekend, Almabayev has the chance to reach his destination faster than expected. But, while he might not be a household name just yet, he hopes to prove to the world that he's a worthy challenger for the 125-pound title.
"This is a five-by-five – five rounds, five minutes – and I'm ready to show myself," he said.
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"And they were talking about that (Royval vs. Kape) fight being a title eliminator. So that means that if I win, I'm automatically in title contention. This is something I can do, and I'm excited.
"What (the fans) should expect is an exciting fight, a fight of two really high-level fighters. Somebody who's been through everything, somebody who's got a lot of experience, who's been to every kind of fight. So I think the fans are expecting a fiery, exciting fight.
"And then, for those that are MMA fighters, they'll probably be able to even see something and learn something from this. But, either way, it's definitely not gonna be boring. It's gonna be a wonderful fight."
UFC Fight Night: Kape vs Almabayev took place live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 1, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!