Off the again of his UFC 310 debut, Japanese star, Kai Asakura already has sights set on his return to the Octagon for his sophomore begin with the promotion — as quickly because the opening quarter of subsequent yr, with followers calling for him to rematch incoming headliner, Manel Kape.
Asakura, a former Rizin FF gold holder, debuted at quantity fourteen within the official flyweight rankings, following his touchdown within the promotion at UFC 310 earlier this month, difficult for undisputed gold in his first matchup, taking up Brazilian star, Alexandre Pantoja.
And regardless of a assured first spherical from the 31-year-old, Pantoja would exhibit his grappling capability within the early goings of the second spherical, wrapping up a rear-naked choke, sending Asakura unconscious within the course of.
Kai Asakura targets April return for second UFC outing
Reserved and detected following his loss to Pantoja, Asakura has revealed he has plans to make a return to motion as quickly as Might of subsequent yr — if not as early as April. And whereas the Japanese contender has didn’t land on a great opponent, followers have advised he rematch fellow former Rizin FF champion, Kape.
“I’m recovering, so I’m going to do my best this month and next month,” Kai Asakura mentioned on his YouTube channel. “I feel I’ll have the ability to transfer with confidence by February or so. I don’t know. I feel the match will likely be held in Might. In all probability.
“I want to do it as soon as possible,” Kai Asakura defined. “I think I can do it in late May. I’m looking forward to the next match. The next match is really important. I don’t know what will happen to my opponent. But I don’t have the right to choose. I have to beat the opponent I want to beat.”
First preventing with Angolan-born contender, Kape below the banner of Rizin FF again in 2019, Asakura was stopped with a second spherical TKO defeat of their bantamweight title battle.
Himself booked to headline UFC Vegas 103 in March, quantity six ranked contender, Kape will tackle former title challenger, Brandon Royval in a possible title eliminator.
