Tomorrow night in the main event of UFC 310, the flyweight title is on the line. The champion Alexandre Pantoja (28-5) will be looking for his third successful title defense and his seventh win in a row as he takes on former Rizin bantamweight champion and UFC newcomer Kai Asakura (21-4).
Starting with the challenger, this is a massive spot for him to make his promotional debut. The final PPV card of the year and he’s headlining in a title fight. If anyone deserves this chance, it’s Kai Asakura. Asakura last fought nearly a year ago when he stopped former Bellator champ Juan Archuleta to win the Rizin bantamweight title. From there, he signed with the UFC and now he’s getting a title shot against Pantoja.
Pantoja scored three impressive wins over Manel Kape, Brandon Royval, and Alex Perez between 2021 and 2022 to earn a title shot against former champion Brandon Moreno. Pantoja beat Moreno and then he defeated Brandon Royval in his first title defense. His second title defense came back at UFC 301 when he won a close decision over Steve Erceg.
UFC 310 Prediction
This fight is going to come down to one thing and that’s the wrestling and grappling of Alexandre Pantoja. If he can take Kai Asakura down throughout this fight, he’s going to end up winning a decision or he’ll score a submission victory. However, if he cannot consistently take Asakura down, he’s going to be in trouble.
Pantoja fights with a ton of forward pressure, but so does Asakura. Asakura is much better and much more powerful on the feet. If this fight stays at range, not only can Asakura win, I think he can easily find his way to a finish. There’s a lot in me that wants to pick Kai Asakura here.
However, I think the smart money is with the wrestling of Pantoja. All Pantoja needs is three takedowns across three rounds and he needs to survive two on the feet to get his hand raised and retain his UFC title. I think he can do that.
Prediction: Alexandre Pantoja by Decision