Kai Asakura really seems back on track and at home at bantamweight, as he scored a knockout of Aoriqileng at UFC Shanghai.
Asakura had a technical approach to start the action, circling on the outside and focusing on striking from distance. Asakura’s striking was on point, but Aoriqileng had his moments and stopped an Asakura takedown attempt during the frame.
The two exchanged early in round two, with Asakura rocking Aoriqileng with a strong head kick. He swarmed Aoriqileng with a flurry of follow-up strikes before the fight was halted just over 30 seconds into round two.
Asakura, the former RIZIN bantamweight champion, is now 2-2 in the UFC. After losses to then-flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja and Tim Elliott, Asakura moved up to 135, making his UFC bantamweight debut with a quick finish of Cameron Smotherman.
