Fight fans were very surprised to see that Kai Asakura would be fighting for the UFC flyweight title on his Octagon debut at UFC 310. The former RIZIN bantamweight champion is a big star in Japan so it would make sense why the UFC would want to showcase him.
That being said, plenty of big signings have arrived in the promotion before and not gone straight into a title shot. Fighters like Michael Chandler, Ji?í Procházka, Kayla Harrison and Michael “Venom” Page all entered the UFC and went straight into a fight within the top 15 rankings of their divisions.
When it was announced that Asakura has signed with the MMA leader, it was reported that he would be jumping right into the top five of the flyweight division after deciding to move down from bantamweight which he plans on returning to in the future. In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, the title challenger was asked whether his discussions with the UFC always involved him facing Alexandre Pantoja for the gold.
He revealed that the original plan that was put in place was for him to face a top three guy in the division in his debut. Asakura said that once it became clear that this wasn’t happening, an offer he couldn’t refuse landed on his lap instead.
“We as a team had discussed with them about fighting somebody in the top three and they had agreed to provide a top three challenger for me and we had a fight. It unfortunately fell through and then after that fight fell through, I was given this opportunity to fight for the title and of course, we took it right away.”
The proposed fight that Asakura may be referring to was a match-up with Brandon Royval that “Raw Dawg” said he was offered for UFC 305 this past August. Royval instead went on to face Asakura’s fellow Japanese standout, Tatsuro Taira, in October.
Brandon Royval explains why he declined Kai Asakura fight at UFC 305 in Perth:
"I’m not a cheap ass prostitute anymore. I'm not just selling my body to anybody."
(
: @MikeHeck_JR) pic.twitter.com/asvRzsAZUC
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) October 9, 2024
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