UFC Fight Night Kape vs. Almabayev 3/1/25

The UFC’s flyweight division is red hot, and this main event is a crucial stepping stone toward the championship. Manel Kape, a human highlight reel, is coming off a devastating third-round stoppage of Bruno Silva. His explosive striking and relentless finishing instincts make him a serious threat in the division. On the other side of the Octagon, Asu Almabayev is riding a jaw-dropping 17-fight win streak, including four straight UFC victories. His pressure-heavy approach and grappling dominance make him one of the most dangerous rising contenders. This isn’t the fight originally booked for March 1, but when the MMA gods shuffle the deck, sometimes we get magic. Kape’s striking brilliance versus Almabayev’s suffocating attack.

Good news for Barlow and his fans. Bad news for England’s Patterson, who may want to lean on the ground game that has seen him end seven of his 12 pro wins by submission. The Brit has some hands, too, but regardless of what Patterson brings to fight night, the 29-year-old Barlow is ready for it all. That’s why he’s here, to fight in a mixed martial arts fight, not a kickboxing match. If he can get Patterson out of there with that left hand on the feet, so be it, but if his opponent nullifies his standup game, he’ll go where he has to in order to win, because that’s the objective – to win. “That just comes from the way we train, it comes from your upbringing,” Barlow said. Like I said, that's how I played ball, that's how we grew up. I guess it comes from not feeling sorry for yourself. It's the way I was trained because it's a break you or make you sport. The way I started training with my coach, he always told me, don't feel sorry for yourself. You going to do the work anyway. So I know not to feel sorry for myself. And if we’re still awake, we fight. If I'm still conscious, I'm fighting.”

So despite having a perfect pro record, Barlow has been to the deep waters, and he swam like an Olympian while there. To do that at the highest level of the sport has to be a huge confidence builder, but he doesn’t necessarily see it that way in the conventional sense. “To be honest, as far as my confidence goes, it’s always something that I sit right next to fear. I sit it right next to excitement. I sit it right next to sadness. I sit it right next to joy. I just feel like confidence is another needed emotion. So it really never changes. I train with confidence, and I basically use all those emotions as motivation. But with confidence, there has to be faith. So this all just built more faith in myself that I can do it.”