LAS VEGAS – The UFC 310 main event wasn’t just a thrilling flyweight battle. It also was a rather unique moment, at least in more recent times for the promotion.
Flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja defended his title against RIZIN import Kai Asakura with a second-round submission at T-Mobile Arena – and he impressed UFC CEO Dana White in the process.
“There are two sides to this story,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “You take a guy like Asakura, who came into the UFC your first time. We talk about the jitters and all the things that happened, your first time fighting in a cage, etc., etc. – and he came in guns-ablazing, flying knee right away. Then, Pantoja, how he put the pressure back on him – who in this room didn’t want to see three more rounds of that? It would’ve been amazing. It was a great fight and Pantoja went out and dominated. … He’s awesome. He looked incredible tonight.”
White wasn’t the only promoter that sat cage-side for the title fight between the Brazilian and Japanese stars. RIZIN president Nobuyuki Sakakibara also watched. The former PRIDE show-runner met with his former rival White before and after the event.
While it’s unclear what RIZIN’s involvement, if any, there was to Asakura’s signing with the UFC, White likes the idea of having a good relationship to collaborate and build the market in similar ways.
“We did it tonight,” White said. “He had a good performance. I would love to do it. Having these up-and-coming Japanese fighters, we were just talking in my room. He’s saying now in Japan, all of these young guys want to be the first one to win a world title in the UFC. That’s exciting.
“There’s such a rich history of MMA in Japan. Some of the best days of my life were our rivalry with PRIDE. It was a really fun time in my life and in his too. We were talking about it, so the answer is yes to all that. I’d love to go do a Fight Night there, too.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.
