It's always exciting when the UFC signs a big name from another promotion and fight fans get to see how they stack up against the rest of the roster. In the case of Kai Asakura, things are a bit different to the other times that we have seen this happen in recent years.
For a start, unlike fighters like Kayla Harrison or Michael "Venom" Page, he's going straight into a UFC title shot on his debut this weekend at UFC 310 where he challenges Alexandre Pantoja for the flyweight belt in the main event. The other notable difference is that Asakura didn't become a champion in a promotion that is on a lot of US fans' radars.
The 31-year old is a big name in Japan and though some of his wins in RIZIN have certainly put him on the global map, there are a lot of UFC fans who won't have heard of him until he was signed to the promotion. In a recent interview with The Scrap, Mando Gutierrez looked to help provide some insight into what the title challenger is like and what fans can expect from him.
Gutierrez has been training alongside Asakura in his first UFC camp and he's very excited to see what the new arrival will be capable of. He thinks that though the Japanese star has an impressive highlight reel from his time in RIZIN, he will be able to produce these kinds of finishes in the UFC also.
Lighting in a bottle bro. Like he has true finishing capabilities. Super strong, super agile, fast as f*** and he cracks man. If there’s one thing I can guarantee you it’s that’s the hardest hitting 125’er on planet earth and I really believe it. Timing, precision, speed, power, all mixed into one just makes him the hardest f****** puncher there is.
