Tasked with welcoming promotional newcomer, Kai Asakura to the Octagon this weekend, flyweight champion, Alexandre Pantoja appears to be linking up with a prior fighter to beat the former Rizin FF titleholder — in the form of ex-UFC title challenger, Kyoji Horiguchi.
Pantoja, the current undisputed flyweight champion, will make his return next weekend in the headliner of UFC 310 in Las Vegas, taking on former Rizin FF gold holder, Asakura — as the Japanese star makes his first outing under the banner of the promotion.
Most recently featuring at UFC 301 back in May in his return to a native Brazil, Pantoja would rack up his second successful defense of the flyweight throne in a hard-fought unanimous decision win over Australian title challenger, Steve Erceg.
Claiming he has all the tools to beat Alexandre Pantoja in his first-ever trip to the Octagon — patricularly if he elects to stand and strike with the defending champion, Asakura enters the UFC off the back of an impressive two-fight winning run over both Yuki Motoya, and former Bellator MMA gold holder, Juan Archuleta.
Alexandre Pantoja trains with Kyoji Horiguchi ahead of Kai Asakura fight
Notably dropping losses to the likes of Manel Kape, and Hiromasa Ogikubo in the past — Japanese star, Asakura holds a win over the above-mentioned, Horiguchi — and has also lost to his compatriot, with Alexandre Pantoja looking to employ the knowledge of the UFC veteran to one-up his opponent before they even fight.
Featuring on the UFC 310: Countdown feature this weekend, Pantoja was spotted training with the above-mentioned former UFC flyweight title challenger, Horiguchi, who stopped Asakura with a first round blistering KO win back in 2020 in the pair’s Rizin FF bantamweight title fight in Japan.
Prior to Pantoja’s title fight with Asakura, UFC 310 features a massive co-headliner over the course of five rounds as unbeaten welterweight stars, Shavkat Rakhmonov and Ian Garry meet in an officially-billed title eliminator.