Opening bout for Kape vs. Almabayev UFC Fight Night scrapped on weigh-in day

This Saturday’s UFC Fight Night card lost its opening matchup before the event’s weigh-ins even got underway.

Manel Kape vs. Asu Almabayev Headline UFC Vegas 103

Taking place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, NV, UFC Vegas 103 is headlined by top flyweight contenders Manel Kape and Asu Almabayev.

How to watch UFC Vegas 103 & betting odds for Manel Kape vs. Asu Almabayev

Manel Kape fights Bruno Silva at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The event was originally supposed to feature a main event between Kape and former title challenger Brandon Royval before Royval withdrew due to injury, and Almabayev was subsequently pulled from a matchup with Allan Nascimento after he was also previously scheduled to meet Steve Erceg on the same card.

Asu Almabayev fights CJ Vergara during UFC 299 at Kayesa Center. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The event boasts some well-matched fights but is fairly short on big names outside of the main event and one other ranked flyweight contender in Charles Johnson, and the UFC Vegas 103 slate also got one fight lighter when a matchup was scrapped just before weigh-ins started.

Montana De La Rosa vs. Luana Carolina Scrapped On Weigh-In Day

Per the UFC, a women’s flyweight matchup between Montana De La Rosa and Luana Carolina was scrapped just before weigh-ins started due to “weight management issues” on the part of Carolina.

UFC Fight Night live weigh-in stream & results for Manel Kape vs. Asu Almabayev

A longtime veteran of the UFC that made her formal promotional debut back in 2017 after competing on Season 26 of The Ultimate Fighter, De La Rosa most recently took a split decision over Andrea Lee to snap a three-fight skid that began with her loss to Maycee Barber in 2022.

Andrea Lee fights Montana De La Rosa during UFC Fight Night at Ben Secours Wellness Arena. | Adam Hagy-Imagn Images

Carolina earned a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018 and initially went 3-3 through he first six bouts in the UFC, but a win over Ivana Petrović in 2023 kicked off a three-fight win streak that the Brazilian would have tried to extend against De La Rosa this Saturday.

Joanne Wood fights Luana Carolina during UFC 286 at O2 Arena. | Per Haljestam-Imagn Images

Best fights and fighters to watch at UFC Fight Night Manel Kape vs. Asu Almabayev

It’s unclear at this time if the UFC will attempt to rebook De La Rosa vs. Carolina for an upcoming card, but barring any other weigh-in day cancellations UFC Vegas 103 now looks like this:

UFC Fight Night Main Card

• Main Event: Manel Kape vs. Asu Almabayev

• Co-Main Event: Cody Brundage vs. Julian Marquez

• Nasrat Haqparast vs. Esteban Ribovics

• Hyder Amil vs. William Gomis

• Danny Barlow vs. Sam Patterson

UFC Fight Night Preliminary Card

• Austen Lane vs. Mario Pinto

• Ricardo Ramos vs. Chepe Mariscal

• Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. John Castañeda

• Danny Silva vs. Lucas Almeida

• Andrea Lee vs. JJ Aldrich

• Charles Johnson vs. Ramazan Temirov

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