Pantoja chokes out Asakura to retain

Alexandre Pantoja remains the UFC flyweight champion after he choked out debutant Kai Asakura in the main event of UFC 310 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on the morning of Sunday 8 December 2024.

Pantoja and Asakura delivered a spectacular, albeit brief, showing, with the pair trading furious blows through a back-and-forth first round. Asakura was able to defend takedowns expertly through the first five minutes, but in the second round he was dragged to the ground by the champ and ultimately choked out by ‘The Cannibal’, who has now made three successful defences of his title.

The 34-year-old Brazilian then went on to call out Demetrious Johnson, considered one of the all-time great UFC champions, to renege on his recent retirement and fight him.

In the co-main event, Shavkat Rakhmonov earned himself a shot at the welterweight title with a unanimous decision triumph over Ian Machado Garry. The Kazakhstan fighter will go on to face division champion Belal Muhammad in what was originally scheduled to be this event’s main fight, before the title-holder was forced to withdraw due to injury.

The rest of the main card saw Ciryl Gane edge out Alexander Volkov via split decision in a heavyweight bout; Bryce Mitchell spectacularly defeated Kron Gracie via third-round KO in the featherweight division; and another featherweight clash saw Choi Doo-ho stop Nate Landwehr.

The UFC will conclude for the year 2024 next Sunday, 15 December, with a Fight Night at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, headlined by a welterweight clash between Colby Covington and Joaquin Buckley.

UFC 310 – Main card results

- Main event: Flyweight championship: Alexandre Pantoja def. Kai Asakura via technical submission (rear-naked choke), R2, 2:05

- Co-main: Welterweight: Shavkat Rakhmonov def. Ian Machado Garry via unanimous decision (48-47 48-47 48-47), R5, 5:00

- Heavyweight: Ciryl Gane def. Alexander Volkov via split decision (29-28 28-29 29-28), R3, 5:00

- Featherweight: Bryce Mitchell def. Kron Gracie via KO (slam and elbows), R3, 0:39

- Featherweight: Choi Doo-ho def.Nate Landwehr via TKO (elbows), R3, 3:21