Pantoja Submits Asakura at UFC 310
Alexandre Pantoja entered his December 2024 title defense as the betting favorite, and he backed that status up against Kai Asakura. Pantoja submitted the Japanese newcomer with a rear-naked choke at 2:05 of the second round in Las Vegas, keeping the flyweight championship. The pre-fight odds are historical lines.
Pantoja’s title run after Asakura
Pantoja later defended the belt against Kai Kara-France in June 2025. He lost it to Joshua Van in December 2025 when an arm injury ended their fight 26 seconds into the first round. Their September 2026 rematch went five rounds, and Van retained the title by unanimous decision, with official scores of 49–46, 48–47, and 50–45.
Asakura’s first appearance in the promotion ended with a second-round submission loss, but the result came against a champion who had already defended his title repeatedly. This page’s original odds discussion is best read as a snapshot of the market before that fight, not as a current prediction.
Sources: Pantoja–Asakura result; Van–Pantoja rematch result; judges’ scorecards.
The changing odds describe only the market before UFC 310; later results should not be read back into that line. Pantoja’s second-round submission was the outcome that night, while the later Van fights changed the division’s title picture. The rematch scorecards show Van retained over five rounds, a separate result from Asakura’s UFC debut.
