Alexandre Pantoja’s remarkable run atop the flyweight division continued at UFC 310, as he submitted Kai Asakura in round two.
On Saturday, Pantoja put the Japanese out cold with a rear naked choke in round two, retaining his title and giving Asakura a harsh introduction to the UFC.
Asakura, a former two-time bantamweight champion in Rizin, had been signed by the UFC to give Pantoja a fresh challenge. That was due to a run that saw Pantoja beat No 1-ranked Brandon Royval twice and No 2-ranked Brandon Moreno three times.
Pantoja took the title from Moreno in 2023, and heading into UFC 310, the Brazilian was 9-0 against the flyweight top 10 (and still is, given Asakura was unranked). The only man in the top 10 who Pantoja has not beaten is Amir Albazi, whom he has not faced – and who recently lost to Moreno.
UFC 310’s main event got off to a scintillating start, with Pantoja, 33, pressing forward as always, while Asakura landed some dangerous signature knees.
But Pantoja’s superior grappling saw him take down Asakura, 31, and lock in a rear naked choke in round two. Asakura passed out before he could tap, and as Pantoja loosened his clutch on his challenger, he tightened his clutch on his gold.
In the co-main event of UFC 310, Shavkat Rakhmonov won a narrow decision against Ian Machado Garry, retaining his spot as No 1 contender at welterweight.
Rakhmonov was due to challenge Belal Muhammad on Saturday, but the 170lb champion withdrew due to a bone infection. As such, Machado Garry stepped in to face Rakhmonov – one of his former sparring partners.
Much of the build-up to the fight centred on Rakhmonov’s claims that he submitted Machado Garry in their past training sessions – claims which the latter confirmed this week.
Yet ironically, it was Ireland’s Machado Garry who almost submitted the Kazakh at the T-Mobile Arena, as part of a late rally. But Rakhmonov’s early success was enough to secure him three scorecards of 48-47 in his favour.
With that, Rakhmonov stayed unbeaten at 19-0 – although he failed to stop an opponent for the first time – while Machado Garry suffered a first loss (15-1).
