Former RIZIN champ and UFC title challenger Kai Asakura made a return to the bantamweight division in his last fight, and found great success. Now, he’s looking to follow that up at UFC Shanghai, and is wondering why he ever bothered with the flyweight division in the first place.
Asakura is a two-time RIZIN bantamweight champ, but moved down to flyweight, where he competed earlier in his career, upon arriving in the UFC in December 2024. The Japanese star fell short in an immediate title shot against Alexandre Pantoja, then followed that up with a loss against Tim Elliott.
Then came his knockout of Cameron Smotherman in May, which earned him a Performance of the Night bonus in his return to 135lbs.
“I looked good at bantamweight, I felt good, everything was good,” Asakura (22-6) said during the UFC Shanghai media day this week. “Now looking back at it, I wonder why I fought at flyweight to be honest with you. But now I think that I’ve settled into bantamweight, and I’m ready to move forward.”
Asakura is fighting in enemy territory in China this Saturday, against Mongolian Aoriqileng. He’s hoping, however, that the Chinese fans are receptive to him. “To be honest with you, I don’t know if I’m really fighting away this time. I hope Chinese fans will cheer for me too.”
When it comes to Aoriqileng, who has the edge in experience in UFC fights despite not having fought for a title, Asakura noted that “he’s a great striker, and he has the ability to close distance really well. So I have to be careful of that.”
Watch the full UFC Shanghai media day appearance by Kai Asakura above.
