A pair of speedster flyweights grace the cage, with a potential
passing of the torch moment possible even though these two athletes
are separated by just two years of age. The relative elder
statesman, former title challenger Perez (25-9, 7-5 UFC) grew up in
the Tachi Palace Fights circuit after the WEC was absorbed by the
UFC. His Kazakhstani foe Almabayev (22-3, 5-1 UFC) bounded around
Russia and the CIS for his early career, taking fights in
noteworthy leagues like Alash Pride, Tech-Krep FC, ACB and M-1
before landing in the big leagues here. Referee Dan Movahedi will
keep things on the up-and-up as the prelims keep going, and the
fighters elect to touch gloves. Perez keeps his range early with front kick offerings, using them
as range-finders and not to necessarily attack and cause damage.
Almabayev waits to score a single low kick, and Perez charges him
with fists flying. Almabayev responds with a wheel kick that
collides with the guard, and Perez gets his leg kick back. Perez
swings like a wild man, and his low kick opens up strikes up top.
Almabayev fires back and then shoots down for an extremely low
single down on Perez’ hips. Perez defends by putting his back to
the wall and hacking at the side of the head with elbows. Movahedi
warns him to not smack the Kazakh in the back of the head, and
Almabayev spins Perez around but cannot put him down to the floor.
Perez escapes, and he resets and rushes Almabayev again with a wide
left hook. Perez mixes up his punches to the body and head with his
flurries, and he ends a combination with a front kick. Almabayev
kicks him in the ribs and just misses a spinning back fist. Perez
darts in recklessly, arms wide, and he hurls punches as Almabayev
shells up and rebounds off the wall. Perez kicks and loads up on punches, allowing Almabayev to time
knees up the middle for counters. Perez ignores them and fires off
hard calf kicks, and he sways back to watch a huge right hand whiz
past his face. Almabayev swings hard with his right, and Perez
chips away with his kick. Almabayev kicks back, and they trade
hooks at the same time. A pair of tiny tornadoes—not of the Tecia
Pennington variety—go at it like whirling dervishes or Beyblades,
depending on one’s preferred reference. They lay into one another
violently, and neither appears to gain the upper hand as the
pendulum swings back and forth. Almabayev times a takedown when
Perez swings for the fences, tripping away the Californian’s
balance and placing him gingerly to the mat. Perez elbows him in
the back of the head a few times, and remains elbowing and not
settling until the horn blares. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Almabayev Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Almabayev Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Almabayev

The flyweights clap hands, and Perez is loaded for bear and ready
to unload. He proceeds to stalk Almabayev down and let his hands
go. Almabayev is more than prepared with his uppercut to counter,
although he takes a low kick and a right hand that put him on the
floor. Perez dives down with a blistering right hand, and Almabayev
shakes it off and bursts back to his feet. Perez sprints at his foe
and wraps him up with a body lock to wrest him to the mat.
Almabayev once more is able to get up without taking a lot of
damage, and he pays Perez back with an uppercut and a right hook.
Perez swings for the bleachers back at him, and their heads clack
together when letting loose. Almabayev gets off another uppercut,
and he reaches Perez at the end of a right hand. Perez practically
runs at the retreating Almabayev to hit him back, seemingly
possessing the strategy of trying to give Almabayev one back every
time Almabayev strikes him. Almabayev spins with a well-timed back
kick that pounds into the liver, and Perez does not love this and
keeps a stiff upper lip before rushing Almabayev and tackling him
to the floor. Perez establishes himself on top, attacking with punches and elbows
when he manages to find an opening. Almabayev elbows him off his
back, and several of them bang into the back of Perez’ head,
drawing a warning. Almabayev turns to his knees to get up, and
Perez wraps him up with a head lock and knees him in the forehead.
Almabayev swings his way out of the position and backs off Perez
with his blows. Another spinning kick from the Kazakh misses the
mark, so he shoots for a single. Perez hops around and puts his
back to the wall to stay afloat, and he elbows Almabayev in the
dome before letting go. Almabayev drives an uppercut home, and
Perez goes for his own single that he uses to bowl Almabayev to the
wall. Almabayev counters with a trip takedown, and the
back-and-forth round ends. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Perez Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Perez Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Perez

The round kicks off with another spinning wheel kick from
Almabayev, which stuns Perez and opens him up to danger. Perez
staggers to the side and gathers his thoughts to shoot in for a
double. Almabayev leaps in the air to snatch up a flying guillotine choke,
wrapping his legs around the waist and wrenching the grip with all
of his might. Perez, who knows his goose is cooked as the choke is
vice-like and about to deplete him of his consciousness, has no
choice but to tap out while still standing up. This
marks the fifth time that Perez has had to surrender because
someone had control of his neck, and it is undoubtedly the biggest
win of the career of “Zulfikhar.” On a two-fight win streak, he
calls for a title shot and a post-fight bonus.

The momentum of a 17-fight win streak for Almabayev (21-3, 4-1 UFC)
came to a screeching halt not just because of his loss to Manel
Kape, but how Ochoa is ready for combat, attacking repeatedly with low kicks and
a hard left hand. Almabayev ties him up after taking a clean land,
and he absorbs a knee and a left hand on the way to trying to take
the fight down. Ochoa keeps his balance with the wall behind him,
and he quickly pops up when Almabayev drags him to his knees.
Almabayev uses a body lock to hurl “Kalzifer” to the floor, landing
in side control, but once more Ochoa bursts back to his feet even
with his fellow flyweight holding onto him. Almabayev looks to jump
and take the back standing, but he falls off the back. On a second
effort, Almabayev is able to take the back upright, but he has to
hook his toes in the fence to stay balanced. He releases the grip
and separates. As Ochoa bears down on his opponent, Almabayev tags him with a
punch and a high kick. Ochoa keeps pressing forward, and Almabayev
slickly ducks under and drags him to the mat, where he gets on his
back and starts crushing Ochoa’s nose with a face crank. Almabayev
climbs onto his foe’s back while Ochoa is on his feet, and Ochoa
leans against the fence to take some of the weight off of him.
Almabayev hunts for a choke but is in the wrong position as he is
nearly wriggled off, and he tries for a desperation leglock to stay
there. He lets it go, and Ochoa rushes after him laying into him
with his fists. Almabayev tries a takedown, and he narrowly avoids
a knee on the way back up after it fails. Almabayev spins for a
back kick, and Ochoa pushes through and takes his back with 30
seconds to go, setting up the body triangle as soon as he lands.
Both men decided against submissions and start punching each other
from that specific position until the round ends. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Almabayev Chris Laporte scores the round: 10-9 Almabayev Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Almabayev

The fighters tap hands together twice to get going, and Ochoa is
the aggressor although he walks through two low kicks and a
takedown shot. Almabayev gets hold of the single and wrangles Ochoa
to a knee but no further, as Ochoa springs back up. Ochoa goes
after the Kazakhstan native, digging a body shot and firing off a
knee up top. Almabayev ducks into a head kick but still manages to
complete the takedown he was seeking. Ochoa scrambles as Almabayev
is looking to pass, and he stands up and grabs hold of the neck of
his opponent to threaten. Almabayev shakes out of it and knees his
foe in the stomach. They trade some strikes on the inside and
separate. Ochoa shrugs off a punch up top to nail Almabayev with a
left hand and a knee, and Almabayev crashes through his hips to
complete a takedown. Almabayev lands in the guard, where he remains comfortably and gets
off the occasional strike. Ochoa makes Almabayev think twice about
smothering his foe freely thanks to a number of hammerfists off his
back that have some surprising pop on them. Almabayev attempts to
pass to the side, looking to work through the knee shield from the
Peruvian. Ochoa throws up an armbar off his back from out of
nowhere, and he is warned for grabbing Almabayev’s gloves to set it
up. Ochoa loses the grip as Almabayev yanks out of the posture, but
he immediately sets up a triangle choke to further threaten. Ochoa
hooks his foot under his knee, holding onto the maneuver as the
horn blows. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Almabayev Chris Laporte scores the round: 10-9 Almabayev Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Almabayev

The flyweights meet in the middle, and Almabayev lands first with a
low kick. He tries to follow his success with a looping right hand,
and he wings an overhand right to the stomach that allows him to
shoot in on Ochoa’s hips. Ochoa attempts a knee to catch Almabayev
coming at him, and he is dragged to his seat when it does not hit
the wrestler flush. Almabayev grabs the fence, and Herzog calls him
on it and breaks them apart. Almabayev apologizes, but he goes
right after Ochoa for another takedown, this time in the open cage.
Ochoa jumps guard for a guillotine choke, and it is tight until it
is not as Almabayev calmly wriggles his neck out. Ochoa sets up a
triangle choke from his high guard off his back, but Almabayev is
able to easily break out of it. Almabayev frames off with elbows to hammer down on the Peruvian,
and Ochoa fights back every movement with hammerfists or some sort
of scramble. Ochoa manages to turn to his knees and get upright
with 90 second to spare, and Almabayev thanks him for this with a
body kick and a takedown shot. Ochoa stuffs this attempt and is
pushed to the wall, where they knee one another in the guts. Ochoa
knocks Almabayev back with an elbow, and Almabayev points down at
the floor to suggest that he wants to brawl for the final minute.
Ochoa does not oblige him, so Almabayev surges into action with a
left hand and a double. Ochoa puts his back to the wall and elbows
the Kazakh in the side of the melon, until he gets free with a few
seconds left. Ochoa overswings a right hand, and Almabayev ducks
beneath him and takes his back standing. The fight ends with
Almabayev holding on from behind. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Almabayev (30-27 Almabayev) Chris Laporte scores the round: 10-9 Almabayev (30-27
Almabayev) Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Almabayev (30-27 Almabayev)

Rather than throwing hands with Brandon Royval, Kape (20-7, 5-3
UFC) gets a new foe on relatively short notice. Having prevailed in
his last 17 outings including four in the UFC, Kazakhstan’s own
Almabayev (21-2, 4-0 UFC) is ready to become a title contender. The
wild flyweight stylistic clash will be overseen by referee Mike
Beltran, who brings the two to the center of the cage to issue
final instructions and bump fists. It’s on with the show. In
alternate stances, they hand-fight early without engaging. Both men
have their lead hands pop into each other until Almabayev springs
into action with a powerful, audible body kick. Kape circles away
and kicks the lead leg back. A lull in fight leads to a funny call
from the audience, and Kape suddenly explodes forward with two left
hands. Almabayev bounces off the wall and responds with an overhand
right that comes up short, and Kape again charges him with a left.
Almabayev ducks down and fires off a right hook and follows with a
body kick, and Kape takes some time before again bursting straight
ahead. Two quick blitzes from “Starboy” make Almabayev shrug his
shoulders before kicking the body, and Kape brushes his arm to
signals the kick did not land. Kape crashes in with a left, getting
close enough to push himself past a spin kick from the Kazakhstan
native. Kape reaches his opponent with two punches and wipes at his
eye, with Almabayev possibly scraping him in the left eye when
pushing off to escape. Kape cracks Almabayev again with his
explosive, leaping punch, and Almabayev rebounds and stumbles off
the fencing before gathering himself. Kape times a left and opens
up with a right, hurting the streaking Almabayev and opening a cut
around his left eye. Almabayev has a head kick blocked, and Kape
attacks with a fury, snapping Almabayev’s head back and bouncing
him off the fencing once more. Almabayev jabs, and he shoots for a
single as Kape races at him. Kape shuts it down without concern,
walks through a spinning elbow and puts six punches in rapid
succession on Almabayev’s head and body. Kape’s swinging fists lead
to Almabayev trying to grab hold of him, and Kape shoves him back
and walks off. The round ends. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Kape Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Kape Dayne Fox scores the round: 10-9 Kape

Almabayev’s eye has taken some serious damage from Kape’s knuckles,
with blood appearing in the eyeball itself and not just leaking
down his nose. Almabayev starts off the rounds in hopes of not
letting Kape reach him by measuring out front kicks. A failed level
change from Almabayev allows Kape to catch him with a punch, and
Kape allows him to kick him so he can find his way in. As Kape
backs off, he ducks to anticipatorily evade a spinning back kick.
Kape measures more carefully than before, not lunging nearly as
often, perhaps due to the threat of the takedown. Almabayev scores
a left hand, and Kape brushes his shoulder off. When Kape threatens
to come in, Almabayev fires off a head kick, and he leaps at Kape
with a knee. Kape stands back, marches in to swing and gets clipped
with a left hook. “Starboy” shrugs it off entirely and keeps
advancing, backing off only when a spin kick flies by his face.
Almabayev loads up on a power leg kick, turning his hips into the
strike, and Kape quickly changes stances. Almabayev scores a left
hand and fires off a head kick, and Kape barely blocks the kick in
time. Almabayev splits the guard with an effective front kick, and
Kape is stuck staring at him, feinting but not engaging with much
more than single strikes. One such right hand scores, and Kape
settles himself down and then suddenly leaps forward with a flying
knee. When landing, he dings Almabayev with a right hand, and he
lets Almabayev rebound off the wall and wags his finger at him.
Almabayev rips a left hand to the body and narrowly misses a right
over the top, and Kape walks him down and slips, recovering his
footing to wipe his foot off. Kape then spins with a wheel kick,
and he runs at Almabayev with fists flying. Almabayev signals to
Beltran that he was poked in the eye, and Kape declares that it was
a punch. After just a couple seconds, the replay official states it
was a punch, and he restarts the fight. Kape charges again with
leaping punches, catching Almabayev at the end of a right before
the horn sounds. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Kape Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Kape Dayne Fox scores the round: 10-9 Kape

The flyweights are so amped to get back to it, Beltran has to back
them off before clocking them in. Kape takes the center of the cage
and has his guard up to defend a body kick, but a low kick from
Almabayev lands cleanly and trips Kape up. Kape strides forward,
hurling punches at the midsection of his opponent, and Almabayev
circles away to take the sting out of them. Kape probes his way in
and has his front leg kicked hard, and he shrugs it off to punch
Almabayey square in the jaw. Almabayev strikes back just as
cleanly, and Kape maintains the pressure to make Almabayev have to
sprint away. Almabayev shoots for a takedown, and when it fails, he
has to back off. Kape surges forward throwing hands, and Almabayev
claims he was poked again in the eye and tries to call time out.
Beltran is having none of it—even though it was actually a swipe on
his eyeball—and Almabayev desperately shoots. Kape shuts it down
and lays into Almabayev with concussive punches. As Kape lays it on with knees and punches, Almabayev turns tail and
runs away, and Kape sprints after him hitting him whenever he can
reach him. Beltran follows them closely as the 125ers speed around
the Octagon, and after he catches up to a retreating Almabayev, he
decides to wave the fight off. At that moment,
Almabayev was shooting for a double, but Beltran may have
interpreted the running from one end of the cage to the other as
physically surrendering and intervened. There will be much to
discuss regarding Beltran and how this fight played out, including
two uncalled eye scrapes—but Beltran is the sole arbiter of the
bout, and fighters cannot call time-out. There may also be some
debate on the specific nature of the stoppage, as Beltran stepped
in several seconds after Kape landed any strikes, and therefore
would be classified differently than a standard finish like via
punches or some specific blow. No matter the exact method, it goes
down as a technical knockout for “Starboy,” who demands two things:
a title shot, and for his daughter to be allowed in the cage and
into his arms. The promotion ushers her in, and she asks if Kape
won. He proudly says he did, and that he is the best. It is very
likely that Kape will have an opportunity to prove he is indeed the
best flyweight in the world in his next encounter, in a rematch
with champion Alexandre Pantoja, who bested him in 2021. If that
fight happens next, we will be here for it. We hope you are
too.

Asu Almabayev

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