With Belal Muhammad out, Saturday’s UFC 310 has a different look, a different feel to it.
The final UFC PPV of 2024, the show at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas is now headlined by flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja, who welcomes Kai Asakura to the promotion. The wisdom of granting a debuting fighter a title shot will be tested Saturday; the likes of Kayla Harrison and Michael Chandler didn’t receive such treatment, after all. You have to go back to the Strikeforce merger, and Gilbert Melendez getting an immediate shot at Benson Henderson, to find a similar situation.
On the other hand, Asakura has big-fight experience with the likes of Kyoji Horiguchi and Juan Archuleta, among others. During the UFC 310 pre-fight press conference, he promised that he’s here to “make the UFC flyweight division great again.”
That statement assumes that the 125lb weight class isn’t great, which might be a bone of contention for many. After nearly being given the axe several years back, flyweight has rebounded and become one of the most watchable divisions in the company. Still, Asakura promises finishes, and those will always be welcome with fight fans.
The co-main event now sees Shavkat Rakhmonov, who was to challenge Muhammad, take on fellow undefeated welterweight Ian Garry. 18-0 vs. 15-0. And one of those 0’s just has to go. What’s not to like? A title shot awaits the winner, who will likely be seen as the future of the weight class.
Our picks are in for UFC 310 – read on to see who we have coming out ahead on Saturday.
| Writer / Fight | Landwehr vs. Choi | Mitchell vs. Gracie | Gane vs. Volkov | Rakhmonov vs. Garry | Pantoja vs. Asakura |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jay Anderson (128-83) |  |  |  |  |  |
| Alex Behunin (122-84) | | | | | |
| Eddie Law (123-87) |  |  | | | |
| Chris Prawdzik (98-74) | | | |  | |
| Patrick McCorry (88-75) | | | | | |
| Cade Morehouse (86-74) | | | | |  |
| Brett Cagle (19-11) | | | | | |
| Mathis Desjardins (14-5) | | | | | |
While flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja wasn’t a unanimous pick, he turns out to be a heavy favorite in the UFC 310 main event for our crew. All but one writer sided with the reigning champ. Ciryl Gane, meanwhile, was a unanimous selection in his heavyweight scrap with Alexander Volkov, a rematch that dates back several years.
Nate Landwehr and Bryce Mitchell are favored in their fights, while Shavkat Rakhmonov edges Ian Machado Garry by a 5-3 margin.
