By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist
UFC Fight Night: Kape vs. Almabayev was this past weekend and featured
some exciting fights and finishes. Who won and who lost? Let’s get to the rundown.
UFC Fight Night: Kape vs. Almabayev
GOOD- Sam Patterson stops Danny Barlow
They start off trading strikes, with both men showing no fear of his opponent’s power. Patterson starts showing more restraint and starts
looking to counter. Barlow overcommits and Patterson smashes him with
some powerful right hands that stagger him before Patterson crushes Barlow with an uppercut and swarms him with punches until the referee
is forced to jump in to stop the fight a little over three minutes
into the first round.
Patterson improves to 13-2 and has won 3 straight fights while Barlow
is defeated for the first time and drops to 9-1. Good win for
Patterson.
GOOD- Hyder Amil vs. William Gomis
They’re trading strikes early and often. They also fight in the clinch for a bit and strikes are flying from all angles until the first round ends. The second round begins with more of the same frantic action.
They’re pounding away on each other, with neither fighter taking a backwards step. At times it feels like you’re watching at 1.5x speed.
The second round ends with more wild action. The third round starts with Amil constantly coming forward with strikes while Gomis looks to
counter. Amil gets a takedown and they grapple for a bit before Gomis
gets back to his feet. Amil keeps coming forward no matter what Gomis
throws at him. There’s more wild action before the fight ends. We go to the judges to render their verdict on this chaotic fight.
Amil wins the Split Decision to improve to a perfect 11-0 while Gomis drops to 14-3 and has his 12 fight winning streak snapped. Good win for Amil.
GOOD- Nasrat Haqparast vs. Esteban Ribovics
Ribovics is more aggressive early but Haqparast is throwing plenty of strikes as well. Powerful strikes that could potentially end other fights are routinely landed and absorbed here and the first round ends. The second round begins with more of the same fast and furious action. Both fighters are throwing a lot of heavy strikes, with both showing great toughness as they tank all of them. Ribovics staggers
Haqparast at the end of the second round but he survives. The third
round starts with still more of the same. Incredible toughness is on display here, as both fighters are taking these crushing strikes but
still moving forward. Haqparast gets a takedown but they’re quickly back to their feet and attacking once again. The fight ends so we go
to the judges to render their verdict on yet another wild and fun fight.
Haqparast wins the Split Decision to improve to 18-5 and has won 5
straight fights while Ribovics drops to 14-2 and has his 3 fight
winning streak snapped. Good win for Haqparast.
GOOD- Cody Brundage stops Julian Marquez
Brundage cracks Marquez with some powerful right hands. This continues
as they’re fighting up close and throwing bombs at each other. Marquez
knocks Brundage’s mouthpiece out with a huge right hand but Brundage
returns the favor and the referee halts the action at the first lull to make them put them back in. They start engaging in a Knife-Edge
Death Fight until Brundage drops Marquez with a stunning right hand.
Brundage follows up with repeated punches until the referee jumps in
to stop the fight a little before the first round ends.
Brundage improves to 11-6 with 1 No Contest while Marquez drops to 9-6
and has lost 4 straight fights. Good win for Brundage.
GOOD/BAD/UGLY- Manel Kape stops Asu Almabayev
Things are tentative early, with just a few kicks being thrown. The fight remains that way until Kape catches Almabayev and makes him
bounce off the fence to stay upright a few times before the first round ends. The second round begins with Almabayev trying to be
defensive and protect his eye, which is showing major signs of trauma.
He claims a eyepoke later but the replay official calls it a punch.
Lots of small-scale battles are fought, as neither man wants to overcommit and the second round ends. The third round starts with Kape
being more aggressive and picking at Almabayev. He then eyerakes him
and gouges Almabayev’s eye but the referee won’t halt things so Almabayev runs away. In a moment befitting this FUBAR’d fight, as soon
as Almabayev turns to shoot for a double referee Mike Beltran jumps in
to halt the fight a bit over two minutes into the third round. Sigh.
Eyepokes for the win, I guess. I won’t go on a rant but I’m not a fan of this ending much at all so it gets the rare GOOD/BAD/UGLY three-piece.
Kape improves to 21-7 while Almabayev drops to 21-3 and has his 17 fight winning streak snapped. It’s a win for Kape.
*************
Danny Sabatello (14-4-1) has been released from his contract with PFL
and has signed with RIZIN. He was apparently unhappy with PFL so hopefully this is a chance for him to get back on the right track.
My new epic fantasy book is out. It’s called Kingdom of Zarias: The End’s
Beginning. The exciting epic fantasy series Kingdom of Zarias returns with the 4th book in the series. After the harrowing events of
Book 3 the residents of the Kingdom of Zarias continue on their paths.
Serena Summers continues to learn and grow as a fighter, desperately
seeking to become stronger before she loses anyone else in her life.
Daniel Summers discovers new parts of the world that open his eyes to
just how little he truly knows. A new hero, Lamar Abeers, arrives to
join the fight against evil. Plus, Zach Summers, Tiana Highsmith, and
Xavien Ekens continue their journeys with their friends, and a new ruler of Vhaharen is crowned. The world has found a little peace.
However, that peace is only temporary. In a shocking act of violence,
the monstrous villain Galren strikes from the shadows and changes the world forever. This is Book 4 in the series. There’s lots of action, magic, and monsters in the Kingdom of Zarias. It’s like a tabletop
game in novel form. It’s on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and many other places. If you’re interested, I would greatly appreciate it if you
would check it out and support me. Also, here’s the link to my
Compendium book about the Kingdom of Zarias series- KoZ Compendium Thank you
very much, have a good day.
Comments and suggestions can be emailed to me at
hydenfrank@gmail.com and you can follow me on Twitter at @hydenfrank.
Thanks for reading and have a good day.
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