LAS VEGAS — Alexandre Pantoja successfully defended his flyweight title Saturday night with a technical submission of Kai Asakura, using a rear naked choke to put his challenger to sleep at the 2:05 mark of the second round.
Pantoja (29-5) was making his third title defense since winning a split decision over Brandon Moreno at UFC 290 on July 8, 2023.
Asakura (21-5) was making his UFC debut, but was no match for Pantoja, who closed a -275 favorite at BetMGM Sportsbook.
Pantoja’s far superior skills on the mat outweighed Asakura’s hard-hitting reputation. After a brief scramble to better position himself, Pantoja got Asakura’s back, put him in a body triangle, and then choked him out.
Originally scheduled to fight in the main event until welterweight champion Belal Muhammad pulled out because of a bone infection in his foot, No. 3 Shavkat Rakhmonov (19-0-0) defeated seventh-ranked replacement fighter Ian Machado Garry (15-1-0) by unanimous decision in the co-main event. Rakhmonov, who closed as a -400 favourite, was taken to a decision for the first time in his career.
After a three-round heavyweight bout, No. 2 contender Ciryl Gane (13-2-0), who went off as a 4-to-1 favourite, earned a split decision over No. 3 Alexander Volkov (38-11-0).
In a featherweight bout, No. 13 Bryce Mitchell (17-3-0) stopped Kron Gracie (5-3-0) 39 seconds into the third round after he followed a powerful body slam with a thunderous forearm to the head. Mitchell closed a massive -1000 favourite.
After the betting market drove the closing price down to +115 on underdog Dooho Choi (16-4-1), he delivered with a stoppage at 3:21 of the third round after putting Nate Landwehr (18-6-0) in a crucifix, and referee Chris Tognoni stopped the scheduled three-round featherweight bout.
Two notable matches earlier in the night included former champions bantamweight Aljamain Sterling and middleweight Chris Weidman.
Sterling (24-5-0) lost by decision to Movsar Evloev (19-0-0), who has the longest active streak in the UFC featherweight division at eight.
Eryk Anders (18-8-0) topped Chris Weidman (16-9-0) by way of TKO at 4:51 of the second round.
It was Pantoja’s third successful title defence and the eighth rear-naked choke victory of his impressive MMA career.
Asakura, a two-time Rizin champion, was making his UFC debut and was hoping to become Japan’s first UFC champion.
But Pantoja was too much for Asakura in his debut, dominating him on the ground and using his exquisite scrambling skills to lock in the rear-naked choke and force the tap-out.
