Alexandre Pantoja’s reign of dominance at flyweight will continue into the new year.
The UFC Flyweight Champion defended his title for the third time on Saturday night, taking down Japanese stand-out Kai Asakura with a second-round rear naked choke finish.
The submission result – Pantoja’s first finish since becoming champion a little over a year ago – headlined UFC 310 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on Saturday night.
Pantoja’s superior grappling skills caused an end to the fight after a little over seven combined minutes, putting Asakura to sleep with a choke.
The Brazilian champ hopped on the back of Asakura early in the second round, getting to the position as the challenger defended a takedown attempt. Pantoja was able to eventually get Asakura down, staying on his back in the process.
Once the fight hit the mat, it wasn’t much longer before Pantoja secured his submission victory. Slipping the rear naked choke under Asakura’s chin after winning a slight hand fight, Pantoja put him out and forced a stoppage.
The flyweights had a tense stand-up battle prior to the sudden grappling finish.
Asakura was aggressive early, living up to the hype that he would be an explosive striker. He would gamble with massive singular shots, like wild punches or flying knees. However, it was the combinations from Pantoja which proved to be more effective, scoring at a higher volume as he advanced on Asakura throughout the round.
Pantoja’s win on Saturday extended what has become the second-most successful flyweight reign in UFC history, behind the lengthy and incomparable run of Demetrious Johnson.
With previous five-round decision victories over Brandon Royval and Steve Erceg, Pantoja has defended his title a total of three times since first becoming champ in 2023.
After his win, Pantoja didn’t eye any fighter in UFC’s top 15 or even active roster. Instead, he looked for a bout against the aforementioned Johnson, who is widely considered the greatest flyweight of all time.
“This is a message for you, Demetrious Johnson,” Pantoja said during his post-fight interview. “I’m the GOAT here. If you want to prove you’re the GOAT, come back.”
Johnson, who retired earlier this year, defended his UFC title 11 times during the 2010s, making him one of the most decorated MMA fighters in the modern era. It’s unclear whether his retirement or his past contracts with Asia-based promotion ONE Championship would allow him to return for a fight against the champ.
For Asakura, Saturday saw him receive the rare opportunity of fighting for a UFC title in his debut for the promotion. Partly getting the opportunity due to Pantoja’s dominance at flyweight, Asakura notably entered the company following an impressive multi-year run in the Japanese promotion RIZIN.
Asakura put together a pair of title runs as bantamweight champ in RIZIN, getting past notable fighters like Juan Archuleta and Yuki Motoya in recent years. He might best be known for his two-fight rivalry against former UFC talent Kyoji Horiguchi, scoring a stunning knockout win over him in 2019 but having that result avenged by the vet the following year.
Along with facing one of the world’s best MMA talents, Asakura had to overcome his first cut to the flyweight limit since 2017.
Earlier in the evening, Shavkat Rakhmonov returned his focus to a future fight against UFC Welterweight Champion Belal Muhammad after a hard-fought five-round decision win over fellow contender Ian Machado Garry.
Here are the quick results from UFC 310:
Main Card (10:00PM EST / 7:00PM PST) (PPV)
Bout 14: Alexandre Pantoja def. Kai Asakura via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2, 2:05) (UFC Flyweight Championship)
Bout 13: Shavkat Rakhmonov def. Ian Machado Garry via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 12: Ciryl Gane def. Alexander Volkov via Decision, Split
Bout 11: Bryce Mitchell def. Kron Gracie via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 0:39)
Bout 10: Choi Doo-ho def. Nate Landwehr via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 3:21)
Preliminary Card (8:00PM EST / 5:00PM PST) (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Bout 9: Dominick Reyes def. Anthony Smith via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:46)
Bout 8: Vicente Luque def. Themba Gorimbo via Submission, Anaconda Choke (RD 1, 0:52)
Bout 7: Movsar Evloev def. Aljamain Sterling via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 6: Bryan Battle def. Randy Brown via Decision, Split
Early Prelims (6:00PM EST / 3:00PM PST) (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 5: Eryk Anders def. Chris Weidman via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:51)
Bout 4: Joshua Van def. Cody Durden via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 3: Michael Chiesa def. Max Griffin via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 3, 1:56)
Bout 2: Chase Hooper def. Clay Guida via Submission, Armbar (RD 1, 3:41)
Bout 1: Kennedy Nzechukwu def. Lukasz Brzeski via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:51)
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