Kai Asakura has the opportunity of a lifetime.
UFC 310
Kai Asakura enters into rarified air, being one of very few fighters to debut in the UFC in a title fight. This Saturday at UFC 310, Kai Asakura makes his UFC debut to challenge Alexandre Pantoja for the Flyweight Title in the main event. Ahead of that bout, Kai sat down with CBS Sports’ Shakiel Mahjouri for an interview.
During the interview, Kai was asked how this whole thing came about, and he revealed (through a translator) that Pantoja actually was not the first option. In fact, someone even turned down a fight with him.
So, at first, once we signed the contract, there was an idea that we’d fight somebody in the top three and then an offer came to us to fight the number one ranked fighter. And then, for reasons on their end, they refused and then after that, we were given the opportunity for a title shot.
When asked what’s going through his mind when he got the call for a title fight in his debut, he said he had zero hesitation.
So, my goal is to be the champion. So, the fact that they offered me my debut fight as a championship fight, I jumped at the fight, there was no hesitation whatsoever. I’m ready to take on this challenge.
Kai ended the interview by predicting a knockout within three rounds. If his prediction rings true, he’ll be the first to knockout Pantoja. Can Kai Asakura become champion in his first UFC bout? We’ll see this Saturday!
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