Many conspiracy theories were made when UFC decided to let Kai Asakura compete in the tournament. Asakura's opponent is Alexandre Pantoja, who holds the UFC Championship of the Flyweight weight class. Previously, Pantoja won the UFC belt in mid -2023 and had 2 successful protection.
Asakura is expected to become a new star of UFC. Before joining the most prestigious MMA tournament in the world, Asakura once expressed himself not bad at Rizin. However, UFC is still a difficult playground for Asian boxers, and Asakura is no exception.
Right from the beginning of the match, Asakura had difficulty attacking Pantoja. The style of competition with the striking attacks of Japanese boxers is not as effective as he wants. If Asakura has a low blow, Pantoja will pay with a high blow and vice versa.
After the first half of the competition, the opponent's exploration, Pantoja did not hide the intention to end the match early when entering the second half. He got the opponent's back, and pulled Asakura to the floor. Pantoja sought so to create a Japanese fighter lock, and he succeeded.
The second minute of the second half, Pantoja took advantage of the opponent's loophole to make a Rear-Naked Choke. The smile also appeared on the face of Asakura before, now quickly disappeared. The Japanese boxer's face gradually turned purple and he had to tap out to lose.
The victory over Asakura helped Pantoja to have a 3rd consecutive defense to successfully defend the UFC belt. As for Asakura, Japanese boxers have not shown their best qualities. He returned to the position of a rookie, and had to repeat the upcoming competition.