Belal Muhammad, Aljamain Sterling, and others call for title shot after Manel Kape's TKO win over Asu Almabayev, Henry Cejudo makes eye poke jibe

Manel Kape made a strong case for a flyweight title shot after securing a TKO victory over Asu Almabayev at UFC APEX. The Portuguese striker overwhelmed Almabayev with his speed and striking, controlling most of the fight before sealing the stoppage in the third round.

Despite Almabayev’s complaints about an uncalled eye poke, Kape kept the pressure on, forcing referee Mike Beltran to step in.

Following the bout, several UFC fighters, including welterweight champion Belal Muhammad and former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, took to social media to advocate for Kape’s title shot. Muhammad posted:

“Give that man a title shot.”

Sterling added:

“Manel Kape fights for the belt next!! Great performance!”

However, former two-division champion Henry Cejudo took a different stance:

“Eye pokes are the greatest threat to the growth of this sport (unbiased)”

Cejudo's remark recalled his recent Seattle bout, in which an eye poke significantly impaired his vision against Song Yadong, resulting in a loss.

Popular combat sports journalist Ariel Helwani also chimed in with his thoughts on the fight:

"Pantjoa x KKF night, Kape gets winner? Things picking up again at 125. Impressive win. But wanna see the replay again ... was there an eye poke or two?"

Check out some of the reactions below:

MMA community reacts to Manel Kape's recent win. [Screenshot courtesy: X]

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A look into UFC Vegas 103 headlined by Manel Kape and Asu Almabayev

UFC Vegas 103 delivered an action-packed night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, headlined by Manel Kape’s dominant victory over Asu Almabayev. The co-main event saw Cody Brundage and Julian Marquez engage in a thrilling one-round war, with Brundage securing a TKO after dropping Marquez and finishing with relentless ground strikes.

On the main card, Nasrat Haqparast edged out Esteban Ribovics via split decision after a closely contested three-round battle. Hyder Amil also claimed a split-decision win over William Gomis, rallying in the later rounds to sway the judges.

Sam Patterson handed Danny Barlow his first career loss. Patterson stunned Barlow with a right hand before sealing the win with a series of follow-up strikes.

Check out the UFC Vegas 103 full results below:

Main card

Flyweight - Manel Kape def. Asu Almabayev by T/KO (R3, 2:16)

Middleweight - Cody Brundage def. Julian Marquez by T/KO (R1, 4:45)

Lightweight - Nasrat Haqparast def. Esteban Ribovics by split decision (29-28 X 2, 28-29)

Featherweight - Hyder Amil def. William Gomis by split decision (29-28 X 2, 28-29)

Welterweight - Sam Patterson def. Danny Barlow by T/ KO (R1, 3:10)

Preliminary card

Heavyweight - Mario Pinto def. Austen Lane by T/KO (R1, 3:10)

Featherweight - Chepe Mariscal def. Ricardo Ramos by unanimous decision (30-27 X 3)

Featherweight - Danny Silva def. Lucas Almeida by split decision (29-28 X 2, 28-29)

Women's flyweight - JJ Aldrich def. Andrea Lee by unanimous decision (30-27 X 2, 29-28)

Flyweight - Ramazonbek Temirov def. Charles Johnson by unanimous decision (29-28 X 3)