Slated to make his much-anticipated Octagon debut, Japanese star, Kai Asakura will fight for gold in his first walk under the Dana White-led promotional banner, taking on undisputed flyweight champion, Alexandre Pantoja in the co-headliner of UFC 310 at the end of the year.
Asakura, a two-time Rizin FF bantamweight champion, joined the promotion earlier this annum following an impressive run with the Nobuyuki Sakakibara-led banner, where he minted himself as their bantamweight titleholder on two separate occasions, as well as making his way to a Grand Prix final.
Boasting an impressive 21-4 professional record, Kai Asakura most recently featured in December of last year against former Bellator MMA bantamweight champion, Juan Archuleta — stopping him with a stunning second round TKO after landing a slew of knee strikes.
Kai Asakura set to take on Alexandre Pantoja in title fight showdown at UFC 310
And slated to take on undisputed flyweight kingpin, Pantoja at the end of the year, according to UFC CEO, White, the Japanese star failed to find any suitors willing to fight him in his Octagon entry, apart from Brazilian gold holder, Pantoja.
A wicked striker, Kai Asakura has landed thirteen separate knockout victories over the course of his professional mixed martial arts career, including wins over some of the biggest names in both the flyweight and bantamweight divisions across the sport.
First winning the Rizin FF bantamweight crown back in 2019, Asakura would stop Hiromasa Ogikubo with a slew of first round soccer kicks for a KO success — who featured against the above-mentioned, Pantoja in a semi final bracket on The Ultimate Fighter.
Furthermore, during his stint in Rizin FF, Asakura, 30, would also rack up successes over the likes of Ulka Sasaki, as well as current flyweight challenger, Manel Kape, and fellow Rizin FF star, Kyoji Horiguchi, and even veteran grappling favorite, Shooto Watanabe.
Tasked with ending the dominant run at flyweight from the incumbent, Pantoja in his first-ever entrance to the Octagon at the end of the year, Asakura must do what the trio of Brandon Moreno, Brandon Royval, and most recently, Steve Erceg failed to do and dispatch the Rio de Janeiro star.