Juan Archuleta expects former foe Kai Asakura to do well in his return to flyweight at UFC 310.
Former RIZIN bantamweight champion Asakura (21-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) challenges Alexandre Pantoja (28-5 MMA, 12-3 UFC) for the 125-pound title Dec. 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+).
Asakura’s last win before signing with the UFC was a TKO finish of Archuleta to claim the RIZIN bantamweight title last December. Despite Asakura having not competed at flyweight since 2017, Archuleta doesn’t expect him to struggle making weight for his title fight against Pantoja.
“I think he’s very explosive,” Archuleta told MMA Junkie of Asakura. “It seems like he’s really getting his body in tune. Last time I saw him when I was in Japan, he was a lot smaller than when we fought, and I was like, ‘Oh yeah, you’re doing well.’ I reached out to him (recently) actually because he was posting some Instagram pictures. I was like, ‘Hey, how you feeling?’ He’s like, ‘Oh, I’m so ready, I’m so excited,’
“And this is a new venture for him, this is something that he wanted and wanted to do going forward, and I’m super excited. I mean, and it’s a title fight right off the bat. Like, not many guys get a title fight in the UFC right off the bat, so it’s like, go get it, man. You have the tools and the athleticism to go get it done, and I think he’s well prepared now. I think he got down to a weight class, Japanese guys aren’t very dense in their muscles, but they’re very explosive.”
According to DraftKings, Asakura is a +180 underdog against Pantoja, who’s a -218 favorite to retain his UFC flyweight title.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.
