Alexandre Pantoja will defend his flyweight title against Kai Asakura in the main event of UFC 310 on December 7, with the co-main event featuring a welterweight bout between Shavkat Rakhmonov and Ian Machado Garry.
Alexandre Pantoja is gearing up for his second UFC pay-per-view main event of 2024. On December 7, he’ll defend his flyweight title against Kai Asakura at UFC 310. The fight poster, released Thursday, features both fighters prominently alongside the co-main event stars: Shavkat Rakhmonov and Ian Machado Garry.
Pantoja joined the UFC back in 2017. Last year, he clinched the flyweight title with a split decision victory over Brandon Moreno at UFC 290. Since then, he’s successfully defended it twice against Brandon Royval and Steve Erceg—quite the feat!
Meanwhile, Asakura is no stranger to titles either. A two-time RIZIN bantamweight champion, he reclaimed his title last December by defeating Juan Archuleta at RIZIN 45. With a record of 21-4, this will mark his promotional debut in the UFC.
In the co-main event, we have undefeated contenders Shavkat Rakhmonov and Ian Machado Garry squaring off in a welterweight clash. This bout could very well determine the next title challenger.
Originally, Rakhmonov was set to face Belal Muhammad for the welterweight title in the main event. However, an injury sidelined Muhammad, leading to Garry stepping in as a replacement after being pulled from a scheduled fight with Joaquin Buckley.
Curious about the rest of the lineup? Here’s what UFC 310 has in store:
– Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura
– Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Ian Machado Garry
– Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov
– Nate Landwehr vs. Doo Ho Choi
– Bryce Mitchell vs. Kron Gracie
– Anthony Smith vs. Dominick Reyes
– Clay Guida vs. Chase Hooper
– Michael Chiesa vs. Max Griffin
– Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling
– Cody Durden vs. Joshua Van
– Randy Brown vs. Bryan Battle
– Vicente Luque vs. Themba Gorimbo
– Chris Weidman vs. Eryk Anders
Exciting matchups all around!