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Alexandre Pantoja Sleeps Kai Asakura at UFC 310, Calls Out Demetrious Johnson

"The Cannibal" scored another huge win in the main event of UFC 310.

Drew Beaupre

(Zuffa LLC

The UFC's final PPV event of 2024 closed out with a highly-anticipated flyweight title bout between Alexandre Pantoja and promotional newcomer Kai Asakura.

Pantoja Chokes Asakura Out In Las Vegas

Originally scheduled as the co-main event for UFC 310, the matchup between Pantoja and Asakura was promoted to main event status after UFC Welterweight Champion Belal Muhammad was forced to pull out of what would have been his first title defense against undefeated challenger Shavkat Rakhmonov.

UFC 310 Live Results & Highlights – Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura

With two title defenses against Brandon Royval and Steve Erceg already under his belt, the UFC surprisingly decided to book Pantoja's next fight against Asakura, who previously captured gold in his native Japan with RIZIN but had yet to step into the UFC Octagon.

"The Cannibal" gave his opponent no time to settle in when he quickly closed the distance in the UFC 310 main event, but he did have to eat what looked to be a significant knee to the head before he finally got the former RIZIN champion to the ground for a brief period.

The two flyweights engaged in a high-paced striking battle for the remainder of the opening round, and in the second frame the champion once again came out aggressively before he jumped on Asakura's back and choked the challenger unconscious.

The impressive victory was the Brazilian's third successful title defense since claiming the flyweight belt from Brandon Moreno at UFC 290 last year, and Pantoja was happy to call out recently-retired UFC and ONE Championship great Demetrious Johnson in his post-fight interview.

UFC Announces 2 Huge Title Fights for UFC 312

The flyweight title bout closed out an action-packed UFC 310 card that was also the promotion's penultimate event of 2024, and next week Joaquin Buckley and Colby Covington are set to meet in the main event of UFC Tampa for what will be the final UFC fight of the year.

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Drew Beaupre
DREW BEAUPRE

Drew is an MMA writer that regularly watches regional events in addition to major promotions such as the UFC, PFL, Bellator, and ONE Championship. He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023.

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