Tag: Alexandre Pantoja

UFC newcomer Kai Asakura plans to put his knockout power on display against flyweight titleholder Alexandre Pantoja.

After making a name for himself under the RIZIN FF banner, capturing the promotion’s bantamweight title on two separate occasions and stacking bodies with a slew of highlight-reel knockouts, Asakura makes his UFC debut at the promotion’s final pay-per-view event of the year on December 7.

But he’s not just fighting on the card — he’s headlining it.

Asakura steps into the main event spotlight in his first UFC outing and plans on bringing the flyweight championship back home to Japan, becoming the first Japanese-born fighter to do so in the UFC’s modern era.

Looking ahead to their highly anticipated clash at UFC 310 in Las Vegas, Asakura made a rather bold prediction for his promotional premiere.

“I don’t see him [Pantoja] representing any problems for me anywhere,” Asakura told the UFC during a recent interview. “He’s someone I don’t think I’ll have any problem dealing with. The advantage I hold over Pantoja is that I have one-shot knockout power, so it only takes one shot and I’m expecting this fight to be over with one shot…

“I know in the history of the UFC, there have been many famous knockout scenes, but I’m hoping that at UFC 310, I can add my finish to those highlight reels.”

Kai Asakura warns fans to not blink during final UFC title fight of 2024

Asakura, 31, is 21-4 in his mixed martial arts career with 13 of his victories coming by way of knockout. His last appearance came at RIZIN 45 when he scored a second-round TKO against former Bellator champion Juan Archuleta. Asakura also holds victories over Manel Kape and Kyoji Horiguchi.

“Since I started fighting, I always wanted to be the best in the world [and] to me, it would all be meaningless unless I reached the very top,” Asakura said in a promo hyping his clash with Pantoja. “I’m here to become UFC champion, I have a stronger will than anybody else. I know how to achieve my goals and that’s all I’m focused on.”

Alexandre Pantoja is good. Maybe even great, but he’s not special.

Coming off a successful albeit challenging defense against Steve Erceg in May, ‘The Cannibal’ will put his flyweight world title on the line when he welcomes two-time RIZIN champion Kai Asakura to the Octagon at UFC 310.

Asakura getting a title shot in his first career fight under the UFC banner came as quite a surprise to many fight fans, but anyone familiar with Asakura’s work can certainly understand why Dana White and Co. handed him the instant opportunity.

Primarily competing in RIZIN, Asakura is 21-4 with 13 of his victories coming via KO/TKO, and held the promotion’s bantamweight belt on two separate occasions.

Some would say that the 31-year-old veteran is a special kind of athlete. Too bad he can’t say the same about Pantoja.

“Pantoja is great at everything, but he’s not special at anything; he doesn’t have a unique skill in one area that makes him better than anyone else,” Asakura told E. Spencer Kyte of UFC.com. “What makes him better than anyone else is his heart — he’s got great heart, and that’s what makes him a great champion, but I don’t see him representing any problems for me anywhere. He’s someone I don’t think I’ll have any problem dealing with.

“The advantage I hold over Pantoja is that I have one-shot knockout power, so it only takes one shot. And I’m expecting this fight to be over with one shot. I know in the history of the UFC, there have been many famous knockout scenes, but I’m hoping that at UFC 310, I can add my finish to those highlight reels.

Kai Asakura plans on beating Pantoja to become the uFC’s first Japanese World champion

Over the UFC’s 31+ years of existence, the promotion has hosted a slew of top-tier talent from The Land of the Rising Sun — Kyoji Horiguchi, Yushin Okami, Takanora Gomi, Yoshihiro Akiyama, and Tatsuro Taira, to name a few.

However, none of them ever held UFC gold. In fact, no fighter from Japan has ever become a UFC champion in the modern era — something Asakura plans to remedy on December 7.

“Until now, there have been many fighters In the UFC from Japan who have fought and tried to win a title, and none of them have been successful,” Asakura said. “I feel like there is an impression amongst fight fans that Japanese fighters aren’t that strong, so my goal is to go there and prove that the Japanese fighters are amongst the best fighters in the world.

“I want to bring back MMA’s popularity in Japan, and provide a place where my friends, teammates, and other fighters are able to earn a living in Japan. I feel like someone has to bring the MMA scene back to Japan, and I’m very proud that I’m part of the Japanese generation that will bring MMA popularity back to Japan.”