Alexandre Pantoja made quick work of Kai Asakura with a second-round submission to defend his flyweight title in the main event of UFC 310 on Saturday in Las Vegas.
“This is the level, the UFC level,” Pantoja said after the win.
Pantoja (29-5) has won seven in a row and defended his title for the third time.
Before the submission, both men kept their distance and remained on their feet in the opening round. Despite an initial flying knee from Asakura, Pantoja landed 32 significant strikes to Asakura’s 17.
Asakura (21-5) was a two-time RIZIN bantamweight champion before vacating the belt in June to join UFC.
In welterweight action, Shavkat Rakhmonov outlasted Ian Machado Garry to win by unanimous decision 48-47, 48-47, 48-47. It was the first time in Rakhmonov’s career that a match went the distance. He improved to 19-0 and Garry fell to 15-1.
Rakhmonov is scheduled to face welterweight champion Belal Muhammad in his next fight. Muhammad, who was at the bout Saturday, was initially scheduled to fight Rakhmonov before Muhammad suffered a foot injury in the weeks leading up to the fight.
Heavyweight Ciryl Gane earned a split-decision victory over Alexander Volkov (38-11). The judges scored the bout 29-28, 28-29, 29-28. Gane (13-2) utilized two submission attempts to stifle Volkov’s attack. Gane ended Volkov’s four-fight unbeaten streak.
The pair met in June 2021, with Gane winning the initial encounter by decision.
Despite a lackluster performance, featherweight Bryce Mitchell used a takedown and multiple elbows to earn a third-round TKO win against Kron Gracie. It was Mitchell’s first fight in nearly a year as he improved to 17-3. Gracie (5-3) has lost his past three fights.
Featherweights DooHo Choi and Nate Landwehr opened the main card. Choi gave Landwehr little space to work, dominating several striking exchanges, which eventually led to a late third-round TKO victory. Choi (16-4-1) has won his past two fights, while Landwehr (18-6) suffered his first loss since June 2023.
–Field Level Media