After a rough start to his UFC career at flyweight, Kai Asakura has moved up in weight believing that it could be exactly what he needs to reset his run in the promotion. The former RIZIN standout enters UFC Macau on Saturday looking for his first UFC victory as he takes on Cameron Smotherman in his first bantamweight bout in the promotion.
“This is my first time fighting at bantamweight in the UFC and I’m not cutting as much weight as usual,” Asakura told reporters through a translator on Wednesday.
“So I’m feeling a lot better than usual.”
Asakura (21-6) entered the UFC in 2024 and was immediately thrown into a flyweight title fight against then-champion Alexandre Pantoja. Asakura lost the bout via submission before suffering another defeat against Tim Elliott at UFC 319 last August.
Now he moves up to the bantamweight division in hopes that a healthier weight cut will result in better performances and ultimately victories.
“After I was offered the opportunity to fight for the UFC I was in the rare position of being able to have a title match at flyweight very quickly. I wanted to take advantage of that opportunity,” he said.
“As I thought my weight wasn’t that far off from flyweight, but after fighting at flyweight twice and realizing how severe the weight cut was for me, it just felt more natural to go to bantamweight.”
Despite entering the bout on a two-fight skid, Asakura remains confident heading into his matchup with Smotherman. The former RIZIN star believes his experience against elite competition throughout his career has prepared him well for the challenge ahead.
“I think Cameron’s an excellent fighter, but in my career I have fought many excellent fighters,” said Asakura.
“And some of them have been much better than Cameron so I am ready for this fight. I’m prepared.”
Watch the entire media day scrum with Kai Asakura above. He faces Cameron Smotherman at UFC Macau on Saturday.
