Debutants getting a title shot on their first-ever UFC fight is as rare as they come. Japanese sensation Kai Asakura has found himself in such a spot as he makes his debut in the main event of UFC 310. But why did Dana White give him that privilege? Well, the reason may not be as surprising as a certain section of people in the UFC community tend to believe.
Kai Asakura isn’t yet, but when he steps inside the Octagon for the first time this weekend, he’ll be the third fighter in UFC history after Gilbert Melendez and Benson Henderson, to debut in a title fight. While some people may not agree with this decision from the UFC matchmakers, Asakura’s MMA record seems to prove that he might just be deserving of a championship fight.
Kai Asakura’s exceptional MMA record and title victories
Given that the UFC is just dominating the whole MMA market, with the most fans compared to any other promotion in the world. Hence, what happens outside of it often slips away, and one of those biggest happenings is Kai Asakura. The 31-year-old was not only a star in his former promotion, the Rizin Fighting Federation, but also one of the biggest MMA stars in Japan.
Before his arrival in the UFC, Kai Asakura had dominated his opponents 21 times out of his 25 fights, racking up an astonishing 21-wins-and-4-losses record. Furthermore, he’s been the bantamweight champion in Rizin FF on two occasions, although he never had any successful title defense. But that’s not all. Asakura has also been the runner in Rizin’s Bantamweight Grand Prix 2021.
With an 84 percent winning rate, Kai Asakura has also proven to be a huge knockout artist because of his 21 wins, 16 have been finishes. These finishes include 13 knockouts and 3 submission victories. Hence, his record clearly shows that Dana White may have been wrong when he decided to award Asakura a title fight against Alexandre Pantoja.
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Meanwhile, Dana White has also opened up on this debate, claiming that Kai Asakura doesn’t need any testing in non-title bouts.
Dana White about Asakura fighting for the title
The UFC CEO is absolutely putting his money on Kai Asakura to give fans an entertaining showcase of his skills and prowess in the Octagon. Just like we said, his record speaks for itself and the CEO doesn’t believe the 31-year-old has anything to prove to him because Asakura has already proven to be a “bad boy” with his 21-4 record and his two bantamweight championship wins.
“We are talking about the Japanese kid. He is a bad boy, you know. He isn’t a guy that needs to come in and be tested or figure out if he is one of the best in the world. We are going to find out that night if he is the best in the world,” Dana White said nearly a couple of months ago. In fact, the UFC CEO claims that if Kai Asakura had joined the UFC a few years ago, he would have gotten a title back then as well.
“Timing plays a factor, but I think it wouldn’t have mattered when he came in. He was going to a title shot no matter who the champion was,” Dana White added. With such heavy words of confidence for Kai Asakura, will these words weigh too much for him to win the UFC flyweight title against Alexandre Pantoja That remains to be seen.
Give us your predictions in the comments down below.
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