The UFC never misses a chance to make its already impressive roster even more blockbuster by bringing in fighters from other promotions. A recent example is UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, who was relatively unknown to MMA fans just three years ago but now carries the UFC on his shoulders. Following this tradition, Dana White announced last summer the signing of former RIZIN bantamweight champion Kai Asakura from Japan’s MMA promotion to revive the struggling flyweight division.
In his debut, Kai Asakura earned a title shot against the division king, Alexandre Pantoja, who has been on the throne for more than a year now. Despite Dana White’s attempts to revitalize the weight class, the flyweight division hardly gets the respect it deserves. However, Asakura’s buzz leading up to his UFC debut has captivated fans, sparking curiosity about this former RIZIN star. What’s his fight record? How has he fared in the cage? Let’s take a closer look at Kai Asakura’s career to see what’s behind the hype.
Kai Asakura Losses – Manel Kape and other defeats
31-year-old Kai Asakura has been a professional MMA fighter for over a decade, starting his career in the Northeast Asia regional circuit and dominating promotions like DEEP, Outsider, and Road FC. However, his journey took a setback with a bitter loss to Je Hoon Moon in Road FC, prompting Asakura to return to the Japanese MMA scene. He quickly made an impact, securing a knockout win over fighters like Kizaemon and UFC bantamweight Manel Kape, who was also a former RIZIN champion. In his third fight, Asakura avenged his previous loss to Hoon Moon with a dominant victory.
As his career progressed, Kai Asakura hit another hurdle when Manel Kape defeated him in a rematch with a vicious knockout. However, Asakura’s determination never wavered. He bounced back and earned a title shot, capturing the vacant bantamweight title with a first-round knockout of Hitomi Ougikubo. Unfortunately, in his next bout, Kyoji Horiguchi took the belt from Asakura, but RIZIN star rallied with three consecutive wins to regain momentum.
Kai Asakura (@kai_1031_) is unhappy with his performance, nonetheless he will be in the final four!#RIZIN #MMA #RIZIN30 #格闘技 #RIZINFF pic.twitter.com/CamtEfXH4t
— RIZIN.tv (@RIZINTV_) September 19, 2021
Despite his resilience, Kai Asakura’s journey faced another setback in 2021 when Hiromasa Ougikubo exacted revenge in a hard-fought three-round battle. Now that you’re familiar with Kai Asakura’s losses, let’s scroll down to learn more about the former RIZIN bantamweight champion.
All about Kai Asakuara’s record and career before UFC debut
Back in October, while announcing the stacked UFC 310 pay-per-view event to close out 2024, Dana White hyped up Kai Asakura’s UFC debut with a bold remark, stating, “He is a vicious striker.” The UFC boss wasn’t wrong. In his impressive career, the RIZIN star has secured 17 wins, with 13 of those coming by knockout, including 12 first-round finishes. In his final two bouts under RIZIN, Asakura secured back-to-back knockout victories, first landing a devastating knee to the body against Yuki Motoya, and then dominating Juan Archuleta to claim the bantamweight title.
Earlier this year, driven by the desire to test his striking abilities on a larger platform, Kai Asakura vacated his bantamweight title and revealed on June 8th that he had signed with the UFC. All eyes are now on UFC 310, where, in the headline event, Kai Asakura will embark on a new mission to dethrone Alexandre Pantoja, who has been sitting on the throne since July last year, with three title defenses to date.
Who will you be rooting for—Kai Asakura or Alexandre Pantoja? Drop your opinion below!
The post Who Has Kai Asakura Lost to in His MMA Career? appeared first on EssentiallySports.
