Newcomer Kai Asakura aims to dethrone Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 310

Alexandre Pantoja will defend his UFC flyweight title in the final pay-per-view card of the year when he takes on the debuting Kai Asakura in the main event of UFC 310 on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Pantoja, a 34-year-old Brazilian, will attempt to extend a six-match winning streak that dates to February 2021. This is his third title defense since earning a split-decision victory against then-champion Brandon Moreno at UFC 290 in July 2023.

In his latest outing, Pantoja prevailed at home in Brazil at UFC 301 in May, defeating Steve Erceg by unanimous decision in the night's main event.

Pantoja (28-5 MMA) said Thursday he wants to ruin the momentum of Asakura, who will be introducing himself to the American MMA audience. Asakura, a 31-year-old from Japan, is a two-time Rizin bantamweight champion.

"I feel super excited," Pantoja said. "Asakura is a big star in Japan. He (has) amazing finishes. It's a big challenger for me.

"When I finished my fight with Erceg, I looked at the (flyweight) rankings, tried to figure out who was going to be my next opponent. (The) UFC brings me another champ, that's so good for me. I'm here for that, for a fight with the best fighters in the world, and now I have the chance to fight one of the best."

Asakura (21-4 MMA) has won five of his last six fights. He enjoyed his stint in Rizin, winning 13 out of 16 fights since signing with the promotion in 2017.

Asakura wants the fans to be entertained as he aims to take the UFC flyweight crown.

"I promise everyone -- I will beat him by knockout," Asakura said with a laugh. He added, "I will put on a show -- 100 percent."

The co-main event features a rare five-round welterweight title eliminator between Shavkat Rakhmonov (18-0 MMA) and Ian Machado Garry (15-0 MMA). The two enter the bout undefeated with 26 combined stoppage wins, and the victor will earn a title shot against Belal Muhammad when he returns from injury in 2025.

The 14-fight card begins at 6 p.m. ET, with the pay-per-view main card set to start at 10 p.m. ET.

UFC 310 main-card bout order, subject to change

--Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura, for flyweight title

--Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Ian Machado Garry, welterweight (five rounds, non-title bout)

--Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov, heavyweight

--Bryce Mitchell vs. Kron Gracie, featherweight

--Nate Landwehr vs. Dooho Choi, featherweight

--Field Level Media