UFC 310: Pantoja vs Asakura Fight Night Full Preview

A blockbuster card from Las Vegas sees Alexandre Pantoja defend his flyweight crown against former two-time Rizin champion Kai Asakura, a Japanese superstar who arrives in the UFC with a big reputation. In the co-main event, Shavkat Rakhmonov puts his number one contender status on the line against former training partner Ian ‘Machado’ Garry after Belal Muhammad was withdrawn from his first welterweight title defence with a toe infection.

Japanese sensation Asakura looks to dethrone Pantoja.

Defending champion Pantoja(28-5) is fifteen fights into his UFC career and steps into the octagon for his third 125lb title defence this weekend against the promotional debutant, who arrives with a record of 21-4. Asakura has a fearsome reputation and is a big punching flyweight. His massive power is by far his biggest asset, and it’s something he will likely rely on against the Ju-Jitsu specialist.

It’s not often that a mixed martial artist walks into the UFC and competes for a championship in their first fight. The Japanese superstar will carry that massive appeal in his home country, and should he win this weekend, Dana White will look to build on his huge marketability with an event in Tokyo.

The fight was initially scheduled to be the co-main event of the evening on the last numbered card of the calendar year. Still, the main event is worthy, and a win for the current champion will solidify his status as one of the greatest flyweights ever. Conversely, a win for Asakura will see him skyrocket to further superstardom in America and beyond.

Someone’s 0 has got to go!

After Belal Muhammad was forced to withdraw from the welterweight championship fight against unbeaten Shavkat Rakhmonov due to a toe infection, it was announced that the latter would put his number-one contender status and a guaranteed title shot on the line against Ian Garry in what is still scheduled for twenty-five minutes. However, Muhammad isn’t expected to be out for longer than six months, so an interim belt is not expected.

The fact that the fight will be contested over the required amount of rounds for a championship fight would seemingly benefit the Irishman, Garry, who also has an unbeaten professional record and completed his education on cage warriors. He has been within a fifteen-minute distance on multiple occasions. Also, he has a five-round fight under his belt when he fought Jack Grant for the welterweight championship at CW 125, which was his last outing in the talent factory that carries the famous yellow gloves before heading to the UFC and continuing his unbeaten run.

It’s a different scenario for the man from Uzbekistan who has never been involved in a fight that has gone the distance. He carries an 18-0 record consisting of ten submissions and eight KO/TKO victories. He is currently one of the most exciting fighters in the world of mixed martial arts, which ‘Machado’ knows all about from being a previous training partner of the submission specialist.

Garry will no doubt want to take the contest into deep waters and the later rounds, but with Rakhmonov being a highly skilled individual that’s finished every single opponent he’s ever faced, it has all the ingredients to be a chess match that will determine who will face the champion once he’s passed fit to fight.

Big Hitters With Big Implications

Cyril Gane(12-2) and Alexander Volkov(38-10) head into their rematch at UFC 310, expecting implications for the winner in the form of a title opportunity once the current Jon Jones/Tom Aspinall saga is concluded. Frenchman Gane had his hand raised in their first meeting in 2021, which eventually led to him getting the opportunity to fight Jon Jones on his return to the UFC. However, he ultimately underwhelmed and became another victim to the mastery of the current heavyweight champion.

Gane comes into the fight on the back of a brilliant finish in round two against Sergei Spivac, but it has to be factored in that it was over a year ago. The man who will be across the cage on Saturday evening carries good momentum from a unanimous decision win over Sergei Pavlovich in June this year.

Volkov, who is forty-eight, fights into his mixed martial arts career, and has thirty-eight wins across various promotions, with twelve coming in the UFC. At 36 years of age and thousands of miles on the clock since making his debut in 2009, ‘Drago’ knows this is probably his last big run at the world heavyweight championship. He will use his experience to get the job done and get revenge for the unanimous decision defeated three years ago.

Under The Radar.

Former bantamweight UFC world champion Aljamain Sterling(24-4) takes on undefeated Russian Mosvar Evloev(18-0) in a high-level contest wedged in on the preliminary card. It is a fight that on another night, could headline its own event and last five rounds, yet it finds itself way down the list on the undercard this weekend.

Both Sterling and Evloev are ranked in the top ten at featherweight, with Sterling at eight and Evloev at five. The winner of this fight could be one win away from a title opportunity. The future of current champion Ilia Topuria is still to be announced, and he looks likely to rematch Alexander Volanovski in the first quarter of the year.

Full Undercard:

World In Sport’s Combat Sports Writer Dan Kelly breaks down all the action on this week’s episode of the FullForceCombat Podcast. WATCH HERE: PFL Championships review & UFC 310 preview podcast