The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday will kick off the month of March in its return to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas with UFC Fight Night 253. The flyweight headliner between Manel Kape and Asu Almabayev could be boom or bust in terms of excitement, but there are clear highlights elsewhere on the main draw, namely a lightweight showcase pitting Nasrat Haqparast and Esteban Ribovics. Otherwise, the card has been hurt by some confusing bout order decisions—it remains unclear why Cody Brundage and Julian Marquez got the nod for co-main event duty—but there are still some other things to like.
Preview: UFC Vegas 103 ‘Kape vs. Almabayev’
