Kai Asakura is ready to make history.
This Saturday in the main event of UFC 310 in Las Vegas, Asakura challenges champion Alexandre Pantoja for the UFC flyweight title. Should Asakura pull off the upset, he’ll not only win a title in his first appearance for the promotion, he’ll also become the first Japanese champion in UFC history.
Asakura has no shortage of confidence and that was evident at media day on Wednesday, where he promised to deliver an unprecedented performance.
“The UFC fans have never seen anybody like me fight ever before,” Asakura said via a Japanese translator. “I always aim to go for a KO finish. I’m an exciting fighter and I’m here to bring excitement back to the flyweight division.”
During his time with RIZIN, Asakura become one of the faces of the Japanese promotion. Asakura twice won titles at 135 pounds and developed a reputation for thrilling knockouts, with 13 of his 21 pro victories coming by way of KO/TKO.
Asakura drops down to 125 pounds for his debut, a decision he attributes to wanting to revitalize the smallest men’s weight class in the UFC.
“When I signed my contract with the UFC, I told them I’m willing to fight either at flyweight or bantamweight and then as discussions progressed, I said to them, ‘Look, I think I can bring some excitement into this division so it would be better for me to fight at flyweight for you,’” Asakura said, “So that’s why I’m fighting at flyweight.”
The end goal for Asakura is to not only become champion, but to become an undeniable star in the eyes of the fans and matchmakers. He aims to headline a UFC event in Japan, which the UFC octagon hasn’t visited since 2017.
However, he knows that his first task is to take the belt from Pantoja’s waist. After that, the sky is the limit.
“At present, I haven’t made an imprint yet on the UFC because I haven’t had a fight,” Asakura said. “So it’s difficult for us to ask them to put forward an event. Of course, I explained to them we’d like the UFC to go back to Tokyo, but when I win this championship, things will change and we’re hoping to have the UFC come back to Japan to showcase and highlight what great MMA talent exists in Japan.”
“The last time the UFC came to Japan was [seven] years ago,” Asakura continued. “There was a lull in the MMA scene at that time, there wasn’t a lot of local activity going on. It took a few years for RIZIN to make an imprint and recover and then I was, of course, at the leading forefront of RIZIN and one of the main stars. Eventually, when the UFC comes back to Japan, hopefully they’ll come on my back and I’ll show them what it looks like to have a sold-out event in Japan.”
