Royval’s Withdrawal Opens the Door for Almabayev’s Main-Event Test
Brandon Royval withdrew from a scheduled flyweight main event against Manel Kape before the UFC’s March 1, 2025 card in Las Vegas. Asu Almabayev replaced him, taking the five-round assignment at UFC APEX after an already complicated sequence of opponent changes.
Several opponent changes converge
The event was UFC Vegas 103, also identified as UFC Fight Night 253. Contemporary reporting attributed Royval’s withdrawal to injury. The public update established the change in the headliner without providing grounds for a broader diagnosis about his overall health.
Almabayev had originally been paired with Steve Erceg. When Erceg moved to another assignment, Allan Nascimento became the proposed opponent. Royval’s departure then moved Almabayev into the main event opposite Kape instead.
The card undergoes further adjustments
The revised contest gave the Kazakh flyweight a longer-format opportunity against an established contender. It also allowed the promotion to retain a flyweight headliner despite losing the former championship challenger who had initially been scheduled at the top of the card.
Other late changes affected the event as well. The UFC announced that Luana Carolina’s bout with Montana De La Rosa had been canceled because of weight-management issues, while medical issues removed Douglas Silva de Andrade from his meeting with John Castañeda. Royval’s withdrawal was therefore part of a wider reshuffling, with the confirmed replacement matchup supplying the central competitive change before fight night.
Sources
- sherdog.com: Asu Almabayev Replaces Brandon Royval Meets Manel Kape Atop UFC Vegas 103 196085
- ufc.com: updates ufc fight night kape vs almabayev
Article Tags
Brandon Royval, Manel Kape, Asu Almabayev, UFC, MMA
