Alexandre Pantoja Continues to Build Legend at Flyweight With Submission Win at UFC 310

Alexandre Pantoja provided Kai Asakura with a rude welcome to the UFC roster. The future RIZIN bantamweight champion was in a rare position Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada. Asakura debuted at UFC 310 by being inserted directly into a flyweight championship bout.

While Asakura was a decorated champion in other organizations, MMAfighting latest news shows he was no match for Pantoja. While the two men had their moments in the first round, Pantoja asserted his dominance in the second. He could work to the back quickly and submit Asakura with a rear-naked choke that put the challenger out cold.

Pantoja has built a nice resume of wins during his current run as champion. He has made three title defenses and tied Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavidez’s record for most wins in flyweight history at 13. Pantoja will have no shortage of interesting challenges over the next few years.

Whoever wants to challenge the Brazilian champion must perform best to steal the belt.

Rakhmonov Goes the Distance for the First Time

Shavkat Rakhmonov was the boogeyman of the welterweight division for the past few years. It will be interesting to see if that reputation lingers after he went the distance to win a decision over Ian Garry. Rakhmonov had to fight off a rear-naked choke attempt in the fifth round to secure the victory.

Rakhmonov is undefeated and is next in line to fight Belal Muhammad for the UFC welterweight title. When Rakhmonov fought Garry, he was prepared for the battle as they were former training partners. Rakhmonov finished with 11 minutes, 41 seconds of control time, while Garry finished with an edge in total strikes landed.

Rakhmonov learned that he can go the full 25 minutes but will still need to sharpen up before he fights Muhammad.

Volkov Furious to See Winning Streak End

Ciryl Gane didn’t act like a man who had just won a heavyweight fight. Many MMA news sites noted how strange it was to see a fighter who won a split decision fleeing from the octagon before doing an interview with Joe Rogan. But Gane returned and explained that he hurt his toe in the opening minutes of the fight and was ashamed of his performance.

There weren’t too many big moments in the fight. Gane nearly brought the fight to an end in the first round with a guillotine choke, while Volkov stung Gane with a spinning back fist in the second round.

Volkov, who saw a four-fight winning streak end, stuffed all four of Gane’s takedown attempts. Gane did finish with a 135-115 edge in significant strikes. However, the arena booed when the decision was announced, and many thought the Russian fighter won.

Thug Nasty Gets Back on Track

Bryce Mitchell was humbled when he fought championship-caliber competition in the featherweight division. But MMA breaking news shows a few difficult losses haven’t discouraged Mitchell. Mitchell rebounded from a devastating knockout loss to Josh Emmett last year with a big bounce-back performance against Kron Gracie.

Mitchell used his strong wrestling to pick up his first-ever knockout. During a fight with the grappling specialist, Mitchell could slam him to the octagon floor. Mitchell immediately followed up with elbows that put Gracie out cold.

Gracie had never been finished during his MMA career.

Choi Doo-Ho Halts Nate the Train

Choi Doo-Ho performed the best in his UFC career against Nate Landwehr. The South Korean fighter came out quickly and never took his foot off the gas. Choi wore down Landwehr through the first few rounds before capitalizing in the third round.

Choi trapped Landwehr in a crucifix position and continued to land strikes until the fight was stopped. This was Choi’s first win by knockout since 2016.

Gorimbo Gets Lesson in Levels of MMA

Themba Gorimbo’s story had earned him positive attention in the UFC. But being a good story isn’t enough to sustain a successful career in combat sports. Gorimbo entered his first real test against Vicente Luque on a four-fight winning streak.

But Gorimbo hadn’t fought the best of competition and turned in a few unimpressive decision wins. Luque demonstrated that Gorimbo still has a long way to go if he ever wants to get a number by his name. Luque clubbed Gorimbo shortly after the fight started. When Gorimbo hit the mat, Luque put Gorimbo in a D’arce choke and put him out cold just 52 seconds into the fight.

Is Reyes Back to Form?

Dominick Reyes hadn’t looked the same since losing a close decision to Jon Jones at UFC 247 back in February 2020. Reyes looked like he deserved the light heavyweight belt on that night, but that form quickly left him after that. Reyes lost his next three fights by knockout and appeared to be at the end of the line.

However, Reyes may have found something after taking 2023 off. Reyes collected his second knockout of this year by knocking out Anthony Smith in the second round. Reyes looked strong against another veteran former title challenger.

Here’s a look at the rest of the fights on the card not mentioned above:

Featherweight, Movsar Evloev win by decision over Aljamain Sterling, 29-28 (x3)

Catchweight (175 pounds), Bryan Battle win by split decision over Randy Brown, 29-28 (Battle x2), 29-28 (Brown)

Catchweight (195 pounds), Eryk Anders win by TKO (punches) over Chris Weidman, Round 2 4:51

Flyweight, Joshua Van win by decision over Cody Durden, 29-28, 30-26, 30-27

Welterweight, Michael Chiesa win by submission over Max Griffin, Round 3 1:56

Lightweight, Chase Hooper win by submission over Clay Guida, Round 1 3:41

Heavyweight, Kennedy Nzechukwu win by TKO (punches) over Łukasz Brzeski, Round 1 4:51

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By Dean McHugh.