The UFC sets up shop at the Apex this weekend with flyweight action headlining a 10-bout Fight Night card.
The featured matchup is a scheduled five-round contest between Manel Kape and Asu Almabayev.
Kape enters his first UFC main event ranked as the No. 6 contender at 125 pounds. The Angola-born 31-year-old is a former Rizin champion with a previous technical knockout win over recent UFC title challenger Kai Asakura. Kape is riding the momentum he gained from a dominant December win over Bruno Silva.
Almabayev is 21-2 as a professional and a winner of 17 in a row. He’s only 4-0 in the UFC but the 31-year-old from Kazakhstan entered the rankings and rose to No. 8 after a 3-0 campaign in 2024 that culminated with a unanimous decision win over Matheus Nicolau in October in his most recent appearance.
UFC on Sportsnet
Featherweight action headlines at the UFC Apex with Josh Emmett and Lerone Murphy meeting in a Fight Night main event. Watch the action on Saturday, April 5 on Sportsnet 360 and Sportsnet+ with coverage beginning at 7 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
UFC on Sportsnet
Kape was originally supposed to fight No. 1 flyweight contender Brandon Royval at the event, however an injury forced Royval off the card at the beginning of the month.
The organization announced two cancellations to the preliminary card Friday during the official weigh-in.
A women’s flyweight matchup between Montana De La Rosa and Luana Carolina was pulled from the card due to weight management issues from Carolina, plus a catchweight bout between Douglas Silva de Andrade and John Castaneda was also cancelled due to a medical issue on the Silva de Andrade side.
Featherweight Lucas Almeida missed weight by two pounds ahead of his clash with Danny Silva, however this matchup will proceed at a catchweight and Almeida as fined 20 per cent of his purse.
Projected bout order for UFC Fight Night: Kape vs. Almabayev plus complete predictions below…
MAIN CARD
-- Manel Kape vs. Asu Almabayev
-- Cody Brundage vs. Julian Marquez
-- Nasrat Haqparast vs. Esteban Ribovics
-- Hyder Amil vs. William Gomis
-- Danny Barlow vs. Sam Patterson
PRELIMINARY CARD
-- Austen Lane vs. Mario Pinto
-- Ricardo Ramos vs. Chepe Mariscal
-- Danny Silva vs. Lucas Almeida
-- Andrea Lee vs. JJ Aldrich
-- Charles Johnson vs. Ramazan Temirov
Ahead of each UFC event in 2025, UFC reporter Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter), producer Dan Fernandes (@DanFernandes__) and writer/editor Mike Johnston (@MikeyJ_MMA) will peruse the odds and make four betting predictions: one best bet, one favourite, one underdog and one dart throw wager. REMINDER: Sportsnet is committed to promoting and educating audiences about the importance of betting responsibly. Sources for responsible gambling can be found HERE.
AARON'S PICKS
Best bet: Lane vs. Pinto does not go the distance -357
Favourite: Lane vs. Pinto Does Not Start Round 3 -200
Underdog: Kape vs. Almabaev Ends Inside the Distance +110
Dart throw: Haqparast by decision +400
While it is risky to have half your picks hinge on a fight between two unranked heavyweights, we are going to let it fly! I expect that more often than not, Lane and Pinto do not go the distance and that there is a better chance of the fight ending in the first round than in the third round. Also, with five rounds to play with and both the danger that Kape brings on the feet and the majority of Almabaev’s fights ending inside the distance, I could certainly see a finish in the main event, especially in the later rounds. Finally, Haqparast is always in close fights and I would not be surprised to see him outpoint Ribovics if he uses a more technical approach.
DAN'S PICKS
Best bet: Mario Pinto -555
Favourite: William Gomis – 200
Underdog: Cody Brundage +100
Dart throw: Pinto wins by decision +400
I have a lot riding on the debut of Portugal’s Mario Pinto this week. Not only does Mr. “Bing Bang Bosh” have one of the coolest catchphrases in MMA, he looks like he has plenty of power along with the skills and composure needed to successfully implement his hard-hitting offence at the UFC level. He was dominant in Europe and looked great on DWCS but I can also see the experienced Austen Lane doing enough to survive three rounds. Lane was able to negate the striking power of Robelis Despaigne the last time out on route to victory. But Pinto seems solid in all aspects of MMA and wont panic if he is taken down. I also expect William Gomis to win his 14th fight in a row and give me Cody Brundage to upset the odds.
MIKE'S PICKS
Best bet: Lee vs. Aldrich goes the distance -454
Favourite: Charles Johnson -133
Underdog: Cody Brundage +100
Dart throw: Sam Patterson by submission +450
Danny Barlow vs. Sam Patterson is one of my most anticipated matchups on this card. Barlow is still unbeaten and Patterson has looked great since moving up to 170, and I could see Brit’s limbs and leverage giving Barlow problems on the ground if he’s able to get the action there. At this stage of their respective careers, I’m not sure why Brundage is the listed underdog in this spot, but I do get why Charles Johnson is the slight fave over a streaking knockout artist. I’m loving the run “InnerG” is on so I’ll roll with him to withstand Temirov’s early onslaught. Also, my lock is maybe the most boring set-it-and-forget-it pick of all-time but Andrea Lee and JJ Aldrich both nearly always go the scorecards and I simply can’t envision any other outcome here when they meet on the prelims.
CAGE LOCKS PARLAY
Three legs: Lane vs. Pinto does not go the distance + Pinto wins + Lee vs. Aldrich goes the distance
Parlay odds: -119 (to win: $84.36)
2025 STANDINGS AFTER 6 EVENTS
CAGE LOCKS PARLAY
2025 record: 2-4 (L3)
2025 winnings: -$238.70 (on $100 bets)
AARON'S RECORDS/TOTALS (+6.78 units)
Best bet: 5-1 (-$25.52)
Favourite: 2-4 (-$296.81)
Underdog: 4-1-1 (+$500.24)
Dart throw: 2-4 (+$500)
DAN'S RECORDS/TOTALS (+2.23 units)
Best bet: 5-1 (-$2.82)
Favourite: 3-3 (-$79.60)
Underdog: 4-2 (+$345.24)
Dart throw: 1-5 (-$40)
MIKE'S RECORDS/TOTALS (-3.84 units)
Best bet: 4-2 (-$93.41)
Favourite: 5-1 (+$239.29)
Underdog: 2-3-1 (+$70)
Dart throw: 0-6 (-$600)
Best bet: The pick deemed to be the wager most likely to win regardless of what the odds look like. The Cage Locks parlay will combine Aaron’s, Dan’s and Mike’s respective best bet for each event.
Favourite: A fighter with winning odds shorter than -300 but not longer than -110. On chalkier cards with a dearth of available moneyline favourites that meet those criteria, prop bets are allowed to be selected.
Underdog: Any fighter with longer odds than their opponent’s.
Dart throw: Any prop bet or moneyline wager with odds of +400 or longer.
(Betting odds above are via BetMGM, submitted at various times throughout week, and subject to change prior to the fights)
