Alexandre Pantoja choked Kai Asakura unconscious on Saturday night during the co-main event of UFC 310 in Las Vegas.
The UFC's flyweight division was completely cleared out, to the point that Pantoja had to look elsewhere for a legitimate challenger. Then there's RIZIN star Asakura, who upon their debut became only the third fighter to challenge for an established title in the promotion.
Asakura wanted to become the first Japanese champion in UFC history, while Pantoja wanted to forge a legacy with regular defenses of his title. And he performed with great confidence on 50 Cent's infamous 'Many Men'.
Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura UFC 310 RESULT
The pair flew out of traps early, with Alexandre Pantoja hurting his rival early with big shots and causing breaches in the arena. He landed a big left hand that nearly dropped Kai Asakura as they entered the clinch.
After being visibly wobbled early on, Asakura recovered well as they went to the ground, managing to get back to his feet as he stopped his rival from making full use of his jiu-jitsu black belt. He even landed a big knee to the feet, but was continually caught by the champion.
The first round was a very good one for the champion, who continued to impress as the minutes passed, scoring with big shots. And in the second, Pantoja managed to get into a good position again and land the takedown.
From there he got into position for a rear naked choke and landed his third world title defense at flyweight. He may now be on his way to closing the gap with the legendary Demetrious Johnson.
Kai Asakura gained 11 pounds in one hour after weighing in for the UFC 310 main event
It was the first time in seven years that Asakura made the 125-pound flyweight limit when he tipped the scales for this fight on Friday. He was previously a bantamweight champion at RIZIN, where he weighed 135 pounds.
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But when he took to Instagram yesterday after gaining weight, he showed gains almost immediately after rehydrating. Within just 60 minutes of tipping the scales he had gained 11 pounds, or almost one stone, and on Saturday night he was likely even bigger in the octagon.
His greatest success came at bantamweight, but the Japanese star likely knew he wouldn't have an immediate shot at gold in the much more competitive 135lb division. So he started meticulously dieting and cutting back to reach the limit.
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