What Kai Asakura (21-4) has done in the UFC could well be defined as “going through the front door”. Win or lose at UFC 310 against Alexandre Pantoja (28-5), he has already burst in as few have done before: debut… and fight for the flyweight belt. No mean feat.
The UFC does not hide. In fact, they have made it clear even in the ‘Countdown’ prior to UFC 310 published on the MMA company’s YouTube channels: they have never had a Japanese champion and the Asian country’s market is very important. With Taira deflating, Asakura is the winning bet of Dana White, Hunter Campbell and company. And the Japan Top Team fighter knows it.
“Let’s be honest: it will be good for the UFC’s business if I win. I’m here to make it exciting, to get people interested in the flyweight division and have a bunch of new matchups ready to have on future shows,” Kai said a few days ago on ‘MMA Junkie’
Let’s be honest: it will be good for the UFC’s business if I win
Kai Asakura
Asakura, in fact, has more than half a million followers on Instagram without having made his UFC debut; his rival, Pantoja, a champion with several defenses, has half that. It is just one example of the popularity of the former Rizin champion. The UFC signed him up from the Japanese company. They had a plan with him.
From the street and the ring… to the cage
In the ‘Countdown’ to UFC 310, Asakura showed a video in which he explained how he got into contact sports: it was fighting in the street… against his brother. That’s when he got the bug. Since then, he’s been on the rise. And now, the UFC.
However, there are doubts. In the UFC, the rules are somewhat different, and so is the setting. From the ring to the cage. “He’s a lifelong martial artist, with bone-crushing power, he’s explosive… but if you can’t stop the takedown, then I’ll tell you something: he’ll be another fighter coming from Japan and not making the transition,” Bisping said in the preview of the fight.
He is a lifelong martial artist, with bone-crunching power, he is explosive…
Michael Bisping
Asakura, with 21 wins and 16 finishes, has some great matchups under his belt, although some ended in defeat: Kyoji Horiguchi, Manel Kape, Ulka Sasaki, Hiromasa Ougikubo… “but the UFC is something else,” says Pantoja, his opponent. “Now he has the opportunity to be a big star in the world, and this excites me even more to have the opportunity to fight with a guy like him,” he adds.
I hope that one day Dana White will address the public and say: ‘This guy is a special KO artist
Kai Asakura
The Japanese, meanwhile, is already allowing himself to dream: “I hope that one day Dana White will address the audience and say: ‘This guy is a special KO artist, a KO machine'”. Will that day be Saturday, December 7 in Las Vegas? The octagon will decide