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 say 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 feel he’s very explosive,” Archuleta told MMA Junkie of Asakura. “It looks like he’s really getting his body in tune. Last time I saw him after I was in Japan, he was lots smaller than once we fought, and I used to be like, ‘Oh yeah, you’re doing well.’ I reached out to him (recently) often because he was posting some Instagram pictures. I used to be like, ‘Hey, the way you feeling?’ He’s like, ‘Oh, I’m so ready, I’m so excited,’
“And this can be a latest enterprise for him, that is something that he wanted and desired 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 within the UFC right off the bat, so it’s like, go get it, man. You will have the tools and the athleticism to go get it done, and I feel he’s well prepared now. I feel he got right down to a weight class, Japanese guys aren’t very dense of their muscles, but they’re very explosive.”
In keeping with DraftKings, Asakura is a +180 underdog against Pantoja, who’s a -218 favorite to retain his UFC flyweight title.
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