Alexandre Pantoja showed Kai Asakura there are levels to the mixed martial arts game.
On Saturday night in the main event of UFC 310, Pantoja dismantled the Japanese newcomer, finally choking him out in the second round for the submission victory and a third successful defense of his UFC flyweight title.
Asakura’s speed and striking prowess were evident early, but Pantoja never blinked as he absorbed two of the challenger’s signature knees to the midsection. The champion did his own share of damage in the stand-up, and once things went to the ground in the second frame, Asakura was out of his depth.
Pantoja locked in the rear-naked choke. Asakura wouldn’t tap, so he was momentarily put to sleep by the master Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner. The win secured one of the performance bonuses and an additional $50,000 for his efforts.
In the co-main event, Shavkat Rakhmonov remained undefeated and snatched that distinction from Ian Machado Garry. Rakhmonov edged Garry with a unanimous decision victory 48-47 on all three judges scorecards.
The fight was highly tactical, but Rakhmonov did the better work in the first two rounds and he locked up the fourth round to secure the victory.
Rakhmonov will now meet Belal Muhammad for the UFC welterweight title in 2025. Here is a look at all of the results from UFC 310. All of the performance winners are marked with a trophy emoji.
UFC 310 Results And Bonus Winners
🏆 – Alexandre Pantoja def. Kai Asakura via submission at 2:05 of the second round
Shavkat Rakhmonov def. Ian Machado Garry via unanimous decision (48-47×3)
Ciryl Gane def. Alexander Volkov via split decision (29-28×2, 28-29)
There was controversy surrounding this fight. UFC President Dana White said he felt Volkov won the fight, but two of the three judges saw it in Gane’s favor.
Bryce Mitchell def. Kron Gracie via TKO at 0:39 of the third round
Mitchell saved a fight that was getting booed mercilessly with the slam and elbow finish. Kron Gracie continues to look like a fighter in over his head in the UFC.
Doo Ho Choi def. Nate Landwehr via TKO at 3:21 of the third round
Dominick Reyes def. Anthony Smith via TKO at 4:46 of the second round
🏆 – Vicente Luque def. Themba Gorimbo via submission at 0:52 of the first round (D’Arce Choke)
Movsar Evloev def. Aljamain Sterling via unanimous decision (29-28×3)
Bryan Battle def. Randy Brown via split decision (29-28×2, 28-29)
Eryk Anders def. Chris Weidman via TKO at 2:50 of Round 2
Joshua Van def. Cody Durden via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 29-28)
Michael Chiesa defeats Max Griffin via submission at 1:56 of Round 3 (Rear-Naked Choke)
🏆 – Chase Hooper defeats Clay Guida via submission at 3:41 of Round 1 (Armbar)
🏆 – Kennedy Nzechukwu defeats Lukasz Brzeski via TKO at 4:51 of Round 1
Next up for the UFC, the promotion will have its final event of 2024. It’s UFC Tampa and it will be headlined by Joaquin Buckley vs. Colby Covington in the main event. Be on the lookout for fight week coverage for UFC Tampa.