“I’m going to move up a weight class, so I’m going to have to prepare properly and get my body in shape again,” Asakura said on his YouTube Channel.

“It might be next year or so, but I’ll definitely win my next fight. It’s not because someone told me to, but because I’ve always done things based on my own instincts. I want to win.”

Asakura (21-6) has endured a difficult start to his UFC career. The Japanese contender debuted with considerable fanfare, receiving an immediate title shot against Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 310. The opportunity, however, was short-lived. Pantoja secured a rear-naked choke in the second round to hand Asakura a disappointing setback in his first Octagon appearance.

Asakura’s second outing offered little improvement. Paired with veteran Tim Elliott, a tough but winnable matchup on paper, he was submitted by guillotine choke in the second round. The setback appeared to serve as a wake-up call, prompting Asakura to make the move up to bantamweight at 135 pounds.

The Japanese standout has yet to name a preferred opponent for his bantamweight debut.

Watch Kai Asakura’s announcement on YouTube.

The post Kai Asakura Eyes Bantamweight Rebound Following UFC Setbacks appeared first on Cageside Press.

Dricus Du Plessis

Khamzat Chimaev absolutely dominated now-former UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis on the way to a virtually flawless, five round unanimous decision victory. Khamzat entered the bout ranked at #3 within the middleweight rankings. The loss was the first that Dricus has suffered in the UFC since being signed in 2020. DDP is now 9-1 with the promotion. It was the first time the South African has lost in some 11 fights, since 2018.

The performance on Saturday from Dricus didn’t lead anyone to believe that he needs an immediate rematch against Khamzat. He’ll likely need two, maybe even three wins for that to even be a topic of conversation.

An opponent that would make the most sense for Dricus is Reinier de Ridder. Reinier is currently ranked at #5 within the division. Timing wouldn’t matchup perfectly, as RDR fought at the end of July, but it’d be close enough. RDR is already 4-0 in the promotion, and it hasn’t even been a full calendar year since his debut. De Ridder’s finished Gerald Meerschaert, Kevin Holland and Bo Nickal. And in his most recent bout he headlined his first UFC main event with his split decision defeat of Robert Whittaker. Dricus has also fought and beaten Whittaker.

DDP vs RDR would be a good striker vs grappler matchup, but Reinier is a much different type of grappler than Khamzat. Much more jiujitsu based than he Khamzat, as Chimaev is a pure wrestler, which in-turn should offer a much different fight for Dricus and fans. Easy fight night main event or main card on a PPV, type of fight. Winner would be a fight away from the belt, potentially fighting for the belt with a spectacular finish.

Du Plessis’s next fight: Reinier de Ridder

Aaron Pico

Lerone Murphy delivered a highlight-reel KO for the ages with his first-round spinning elbow KO of Aaron Pico on Saturday. Murphy entered the bout ranked at #6 in the featherweight division, while Pico was unranked as it was his promotional debut.

It was a huge gamble for Pico that just didn’t pan out for him. Pico was riding lots of momentum as he had won 9 of his last 10 fights and was on a three-fight win streak.

Pico’s next fight has endless possibilities, but a strong choice would be the loser of Brian Ortega vs Aljamain Sterling. That fight goes down on August 23rd so the timing would matchup.

Aljamain is ranked at #7 in the division while Ortega is ranked at #4. So, giving Pico the loser of this bout works perfectly. It would also work in giving Pico a bit different of a look given the outcome of his debut and given that both Ortega and Sterling are grappling heavy fighters. This bout would also give Pico another chance to get a ‘name’ under his belt with either the former UFC Bantamweight Champion or a former UFC featherweight title challenger. This could be a tentative main event for a fight night card to really try and push Pico, considering he performed well in the minutes leading up to the finish.

Winner could be within striking distance of a title shot with nice mic skills. Loser would be in danger of slipping out of the top 10-12.

Pico’s next fight: Aljamain Sterling vs Brian Ortega Loser

Geoff Neal

Carlos Prates floored Geoff Neal with a spinning back elbow in the final second of the first round on Saturday. Geoff, who was once 5-0 with the UFC, has now lost three of three of his last four fights.

Neal entered the fight ranked #11 in the welterweight division, while Prates was ranked at #12.

A good next opponent for Geoff would be Daniel Rodriguez. Daniel last fought in July when he won a unanimous decision over Kevin Holland at UFC 318.  D-Rod has actually gone 3-0 since moving down to welterweight in October of last year. Geoff vs D-Rod would be a great boxing striking heavy fight. Daniel is currently ranked at #13 within the division so it makes sense from a ranking’s standpoint as well. This would be a good featured preliminary fight before a PPV card or even a main card fight on a fight night card. That’d be a must win for Geoff if he ever wanted to be in elite discussions again.

Neal’s next fight: Daniel Rodriguez

Jared Cannonier

Michael Page turned in a clinic on Saturday with his three-round, one-sided, unanimous decision beating of Jared Cannonier. Rough break for Cannonier as he has now lost three of his last four bouts.

Cannonier entered the fight ranked at #9 in the middleweight division while Page was unranked at 185lbs. but ranked at #15 in the welterweight division.

A friendly reminder that Cannonier is 41 years old. He’s always in wars.

Cannonier’s next fight should be against Roman Dolidze. Roman last fought in the main event UFC Vegas 109, and was submitted by Anthony Hernandez, earlier this month. This potential matchup was referenced in that edition of losers and it still holds true after UFC 319’s outcome. Dolidze is now ranked at #11 in the division. Roman just had his three-fight win streak snapped so he’s looking to get back on the right track but in a different position then Jared.

Great fight that could easily be as high as a co main event to as fight night card. Winner proves they belong in the top 10 while the loser could very well face sliding out of the top 15 with another loss.

Jared’s next fight: Roman Dolidze

Kai Asakura

Tim Elliott turned back the clock Saturday with his second-round submission finish over Kai Asakura to open the main card of UFC 319. Kai is now 0-2 with the UFC since being signed late last year and making his UFC debut in a UFC title fight.

Kai entered the bout rounding out the flyweight rankings at #15 while Tim Elliot was ranked at #11.

So where does Kai go from here? UFC brass threw him in the deep end, and he sank, now what?

While Elliot’s win prior to Asakura is fighting soon (Sumudaerji), versus Kevin Borjas on the main card of a UFC Fight Night later this month, a more suitable opponent for Asakura was mentioned in a previous losers article. Now that Hyun Sung Park has been booked against the #14 ranked Bruno Silva, the Charles Johnson vs. Lone’er Kavanagh winner could make sense again.

At this point, that’s the fight that makes the most sense for Asakura. The timing would align. Charles was ranked in the top 15 earlier this year and also had a strong showing against star prospect turned #1 title contender, Joshua Van. Lone’er Kavanagh is an undefeated Cage Warriors and Contender Series product that is 2-0 thus far with the promotion.

Asakura’s 31 and he’s 21-6 as a pro. With his experience and notoriety, he’s got to continue to fight ‘names.’ No backsteps. If Charles or Lone’er deliver a finish, Kai could be the perfect matchup to provide a good proving ground for both competitors. Fight Night main card caliber of fight with the winner being undoubtedly getting a ranking if they don’t already. Loser of this bout should be unranked.

Asakura’s next fight: Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Charles Johnson Winer

The post What’s Next: UFC 319 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

Elliott (21-13-1) took the fight to Asakura as a fighter and not necessarily a martial artists. It’s something he’s spoken about before as the mindset he’s adopted when he competes.

“If I was trying to martial arts competition Kai he would have kicked my ass,” Elliott told Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“He was martial artsing me and I was fighting. That’s the difference. That’s the only reason why I’m able to sustain. I’m not a martial artis. I’m a fighter at the end of the day and I said this in the early media. If it wasn’t in the UFC it would be in somebody’s backyard or I would just be the old dude at the gym fighting guys in the gym because that’s what I like to do.”

Coming off a 20-months layoff it was a relief for Elliott. Besides scratching the competitive itch it’s the way he supports his family.

“This is my favorite thing in the world to do. That 653 days that I was out was 653 sad days of me not being able to do what I love. Fighting dogs want to fight. Even if they’re hurt, even if they’re tired, even if they’re beat up. The worst thing for a fighting dog is not being able to fight,” Elliott said.

“A lot of people think that it’s cruel or unfair to see fighting dogs fight, but fighting dogs live and breathe to fight. That’s what I want to do. When I can’t fight I feel like my life is not complete.”

A lot of fighters say they want to leave the sport before the sport is done with them. The sport will have to get rid of Tim Elliott before he leaves it willingly.

“I don’t know what the f*ck I’m going to do when I retire because I’m just going to be a fighting dog with no fight left,” he said.

“I’m not going to retire gracefully from the UFC. They’re going to have to tell me, ‘You got to go, man.’ I’m going to be here until they make me go.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Tim Elliott above.

The post Tim Elliott, “Fighting dogs want to fight”, Won’t Retire Gracefully appeared first on Cageside Press.

Asakura had found himself submitted by champ Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 310 last December, and was getting a fellow former title challenger in Elliott.

In the opening half of round one, Asakura found a home for his right hand, tagging Elliott at least once. The offense was mostly one-sided throughout the frame, with Asakura walking Elliott down, and Tim retreating, occasionally countering or throwing a kick. Asakura partially landed with a head kick in the final minute, landing more on the neck, but Elliott caught that on the exit and was able to convert the takedown.

Round two was competitive early, but as the round wore on, Elliott was able to get the fight down. And off his back, Asakura seemed to accept the position, closing his guard. Elliott meanwhile was able to lock up a guillotine, sinking it in deep towards the end of the round. With seconds ticking away, Asakura was either going to survive by the skin of his teeth, for a tap, or Asakura was going out. It certainly didn’t seem like he’d be escaping, and he didn’t. Asakura was forced to tap, and that Elliott his second straight victory, dating back to December of 2023.

Official Result: Tim Elliott def. Kai Asakura by submission (guillotine choke), Round 2, 4:39

The post UFC 319: Tim Elliott Hits Guillotine on Kai Asakura, Forces Tap appeared first on Cageside Press.

That first UFC outing didn’t go his way. Still, Asakura’s arrival to the promotion came with considerable fanfare as a reigning RIZIN champion; the Japanese star had hoped to return for the chance to bounce back sooner, rather than eight months on.

“I wanted to return sooner, but I used this time to improve and deal with my weakness, and I’m more ready, and I’m here,” he said on Wednesday, speaking via translator with media outlets including Cageside Press.

When it comes to his debut, and how things might differ this time around, Asakura admitted that “last match was my first time, so I was not really getting used to how UFC style works. But I’ve experienced it now, I’m all ready, and I’m here to return.”

One of those style differences was the difference between the ring and the cage, where the walls come into play, Asakura noted.

Asakura has done his scouting of Tim Elliott, his UFC 319 opponent, and is ready for the former title challenger and TUF vet. When one journalist mentioned Elliott’s tendency to keep his hands low, Asakura responded saying “if he does it to me, he’d better be careful. I’m just going to give him a KO, and knock him down.”

Watch the full UFC 319 media day appearance by flyweight Kai Asakura above. The card takes place this Saturday, August 16, 2025 at the United Center in Chicago, IL.

The post Kai Asakura Feels Ready for Return, Having Experienced “UFC Style” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Kai Asakura

UFC flyweight champion, Alexandre Pantoja, gave Kai Asakura a not so friendly welcome to the promotion in the main event on Saturday. Asakura had a decent showing lasting until the second round before being submitted. It was decent introduction for the Japanese star to many North American fans. Asakura will likely be ranked #3-7 in the rankings when they are updated.

A logical next matchup for Asakura would be the winner of Bruno Silva vs. Manel Kape. The pair fight next weekend on the final promotional card of the year, UFC Tampa. Asakura has extensive history with Kape as the pair’s first matchup came in 2018. Kai won a split decision but on New Year’s Eve 2019 he was stopped by Manel in the second round of their RIZIN title fight. Kape is 4-3 with the UFC since joining in 2021 and is ranked at #9. Bruno Silva is ranked at #12 in the flyweight division. And Silva has been on a roll since 2021. Bruno has won four fights in the time period, finished all four opponents, and scored four bonuses. The winner of this fight would either line Asakura up for a high stake’s trilogy matchup or a fight with a streaking fighter on a 5-fight win streak.

Kai’s next fight: Winner of Manel Kape vs. Bruno Silva

Ian Machado Garry

Shavkat Rakhmonov edged out Ian Machado Garry in a unanimous decision in the co-main event of UFC 310 on Saturday. Though he suffered his first professional MMA defeat, Garry became the first pro fighter to go the distance with Rakhmonov. Shavkat entered this title eliminator bout ranked at #3 while Garry was ranked at #7 in the welterweight division.

Ian Garry has a little history with a lot of fighters. Garry has documented beef with long-time top ranked welterweight, Colby Covington. Ian was booked to fight Joaquin Buckley next week in the main event of UFC Tampa. However, Garry rebooked, and Buckley is now slated to fight Covington. Ian should get the winner of the UFC Tampa main event as it’s a win-win situation. All three fighters have mic skills, all three fighters can sell fights and either matchup would be a good matchup from a stylistic standpoint. It all works out.

Ian’s next fight: Winner of Joaquin Buckley vs. Colby Covington

Alexander Volkov

Cyril Gane edged out Alexander Volkov in a pivotal fight for the heavyweight division on Saturday. Many, including UFC brass, thought that the #3 ranked, Volkov, had done enough to secure the victory. Gane entered the fight ranked at #2 in the division. Volkov has fought nearly everyone at the top of the division, and some fighters twice.

A rematch nearly five years in the making with Curtis Blaydes could make sense. However, Volkov was also matched up with #6 ranked, Jailton Almeida, earlier this year. Volkov rebooked and ended up fighting Alexandr Romanov who he finished in the first round. While Volkov won a unaimous decision against Sergei Pavlovich a couple weeks later. Almedia is slated to fight #7 ranked Serghei Spivac at UFC 311 next month. The winner of that bout makes a little more sense as its fresh blood for Volkov either way.

Alexander’s next fight: Jailton Almeida vs Serghei Spivac winner

Kron Gracie

Bryce Mitchell brutally KO’d Kron Gracie in the final round of their bout on the main card of UFC 310. Gracie has now lost three fights in a row since beating Alex Caceres in his promotional debut in 2019. Though Mitchell entered the fight ranked at #13, this loss was horrible for Gracie’s stock thanks to inactivity and the brutality of the finish.

Kron’s next fight should be against a guy like Jonathan Pearce. Jonathan shares a lot of commonalities with Gracie at the moment. Both men are on a three-fight losing streak. Though Pearce didn’t fight Bryce, he was matched up to fight him in 2023. But he had to pull out due to injury. Pearce was last in action back in October when he was submitted via rear naked choke. Loser of this bout should be on the short list to be cut from the promotion.

Kron’s next fight: Jonathan Pearce

Nate Landwehr

Doo-Ho Choi turned in a nearly flawless performance to start off the main card of UFC 310 with his third-round TKO of Nate Landwehr. Nate has now gone 2-2 in his last four fights but in both of his wins scored finishes and bonuses.

Landwehr is both brash and entertaining so a fight with another dangerous striker would be favorable. Nate should fight Julio Arce in his next bout. Arce was last in the cage against Herbert Burns back in March when he stopped his foe in the second round. Julio fights full throttle much like Landwehr but has had issues with weight cutting as he has come up from the bantamweight division and missed weight multiple times. At 6-4 in the UFC with wins over Dan Ige and a finish of Julian Erosa, Arce fun-to-watch, wildcard.

Nate’s next fight: Julio Arce 

The post What’s Next: UFC 310 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

A win might just usher in a new wave of Japanese MMA, with names like Rei Tsuruya and Tatsuro Taira also on the rise. It would be no easy task against the established Brazilian champ Pantoja, however.

Straight away Pantoja bull rushed in and dropped Asakura with a left hand momentarily and than a takedown right after. Asakura got his barring back and quickly got to his feet. Asakura started to get to work with some hard outside leg kicks. Hr landed a nasty knee to the body that Pantoga just took. Pantoja responded with his hands right back. You can see the speed of Asakura early as he was covering a lot of space when he threw his hands. Not just the hands as Asakura was throwing some kicks as well. Pantoja was also inching back in with some kicks of his own. Pantoja did a good job throwing the kick following a punch. Asakura looked fine but Pantoja did outland him in strikes and had the significant moments.

In round two Pantoja had Asakura backing up with a strong straight jab. When he pressed Asakura against the cage he attempted to jump on the back. He didn’t get there initially but used the cage to adjust to take the back and ground the fight. Right away Pantoja locked in the RNC and put Asakura to sleep.

Alexandre Pantoja def. Kai Asakura by submission (RNC), round 2 (2:05)

The post Alexandre Pantoja Submits Asakura, Wants Demetrious Johnson appeared first on Cageside Press.

Flyweight is not new to Asakura, but he is moving back down for a shot at UFC gold. It’s almost unheard of for a promotional newcomer to be granted an immediate title shot: look back in your MMA rearview mirror, and you’ll see Gilbert Melendez getting a crack at Benson Henderson after Strikeforce was acquired. Eddie Alvarez, Michael Chandler, and most recently, Kayla Harrison all had to win at least a fight or two to hit challenger status.

Just slightly more recently, in 2014, Joe Soto got an immediate title shot against T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 177 – but that was as a replacement for an injured Renan Barao.

The UFC clearly sees something special in Asakura, at a point in time that has seen a wave of fresh Japanese talent, including Rei Tsuruya and Tatsuro Taira, enter the company.

UFC 310 was to have Belal Muhammad defend his welterweight title against Shavkat Rakhmonov. With Muhammad out, the planned main event is now a co-main event title eliminator. Ian Machado Garry, initially booked for UFC Tampa a week later, puts his undefeated 15-0 record on the line against Shavkat’s 18-0 mark.

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Alexandre Pantoja was the second man to hit the scales (Japanese newcomer and title challenger Kai Asakura came in much later in the window). Shavkat Rakhmonov, who faces Ian Machado Garry in a welterweight title eliminator, went first; all four men in the main and co-main events made weight without issue.

The UFC wraps up its PPV calendar in Las Vegas with Asakura granted a rare immediate title shot.

Full results and photo/video highlights from the UFC 310 weigh-ins can be found below.

UFC 310: Pantoja vs. Asakura Weigh-In Results

Main card

Flyweight: Alexandre Pantoja (c) (124.5) vs. Kai Asakura (124.5) – for the UFC flyweight championship
Welterweight: Shavkat Rakhmonov (171) vs. Ian Machado Garry (171) – welterweight title eliminator
Heavyweight: Ciryl Gane (245.5) vs. Alexander Volkov (254.5)
Featherweight: Bryce Mitchell (146) vs. Kron Gracie (144.5)
Featherweight: Nate Landwehr (145.5) vs. Choi Doo-ho (146)

Preliminary card

Light Heavyweight: Dominick Reyes (205) vs. Anthony Smith (205.5)**
Welterweight: Vicente Luque (170.5) vs. Themba Gorimbo (171)
Featherweight: Movsar Evloev (145.5) vs. Aljamain Sterling (145.5)
Welterweight: Randy Brown (171) vs. Bryan Battle (175)*

Early preliminary card

Catchweight (195lb): Chris Weidman (194.5) vs. Eryk Anders (193)
Flyweight: Cody Durden (126) vs. Joshua Van (126)
Welterweight: Michael Chiesa (170.5) vs. Max Griffin (170)
Lightweight: Clay Guida (155) vs. Chase Hooper (155.5)
Heavyweight: Kennedy Nzechukwu (236.5) vs. Łukasz Brzeski (234)

* Battle weighed in 4lbs over the welterweight non-title limit for his fight with Randy Brown
** Smith weighed in 1.5lbs over the light heavyweight non-title limit for his fight with Dominick Reyes, hit 205.5 on his second attempt

Official Weigh-In

Ceremonial Weigh-In

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Kai Asakura
Standing at five-foot-eight
Fighting at 125 lbs (Flyweight)
31-years-old
Tokyo, Japan
Training out of Tokyo Top Team
A pro record of 21-4
13 KO/TKOs, 3 Submissions

How Asakura will fare in the UFC

Former two-time RIZIN bantamweight champion Kai Asakura has made the jump to the UFC. Asakura has been one of the biggest stars in Japan for years and this is one of the biggest signings for the UFC in a long time. He has four losses but those four opponents he’s also beaten. Some names on his resume include Juan Archuleta, Yuki Motoya, Kyoji Horiguchi, Hiromasa Ougikubo, Manel Kape, Ulka Sasaki, and Alatengheili.

Asakura is a high-caliber striker. The only hope is to catch him in an exchange or take him down. During his time in RIZIN, Asakura showed excellent takedown defense. He did a great job of using the ropes and fighting underhooks so I’d imagine against a cage he’ll be even tougher to take down. Even when taken down he does a great job of getting back up. I don’t think of him as much of a wrestler/grappler but it’s good enough to hang with most of the guys he’ll be facing.

There is a crap ton to like about Kai Asakura’s striking. What’s not to like is his willingness to trade in the pocket. He’s already best when he’s leading the dance, rather than partaking in a mosh pit. Lately, he’s been more careful with his approach but at the same time, Asakura thrives in chaos. He does get dropped but has a good chin and tends to crack harder than whoever he’s fighting. While in the pocket he has a nasty body-head combo all while ducking and weaving. He’s got a beautiful lead left hood and a stiff straight jab. As shown in his last two fights he has a filthy counter knee to the body.

The way to give Kai Asakura any trouble is to put him on his back foot. The second you let off, he will attack because he doesn’t get tired and gets better as the fight goes on.

How he matches up with Pantoja

Like many, I expected Asakura to debut in the UFC at bantamweight but instead, he’s fighting for the flyweight championship. I never agree with a newcomer coming into the UFC with an immediate title fight. Although, Pantoja has all the pressure leading into this fight, as with Asakura, he has little to lose and everything to gain.

Pantoja is like the Terminator. What he lacks in skill he makes up for with durability, pressure, and a high-level ground game. He’s fought better martial artists than Asakura, but Asakura is probably the most dangerous man he’s met. Pantoja hasn’t fought someone this powerful and with this timing since early in his career.

I’m picking Pantoja because I think his pressure, wrestling, and grappling will be too much for Asakura. Asakura will have to snipe Pantoja on the outside and make him pay for coming in. I’m just not sure Patoja can be put away and that’s what I think would have to happen. I’ve got Pantoja by a late submission.

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