Alexandre
Pantoja was once again unwilling to make room for anyone else
at the top.
The American Top Team-trained Brazilian put promotional newcomer
Kai
Asakura to sleep with a palm-to-palm rear-naked choke, as he
retained the
Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight crown in the second
round of their UFC
310 headliner on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Asakura (21-5, 0-1 UFC) blacked out 2:05 into Round 2.
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Champion and challenger traded barbs throughout a compelling first
round. Pantoja (29-5, 13-3 UFC) threw more and landed more while
also mixing in a takedown. Asakura responded with a few thudding
knees to the body and inside leg kicks but could not keep pace with
“The Cannibal.” Pantoja set off a scramble in the second round,
jumped to the back, locked down a body triangle and focused all his
efforts on the neck of the two-time Rizin Fighting Federation
titleholder. He slipped the choke in place, switched grips and let
his squeeze do the rest.
Pantoja, 34, has rattled off seven straight wins.
Meanwhile, burgeoning Kill Cliff Fight Club star Shavkat
Rakhmonov maintained his position as the No. 1 contender for
the undisputed UFC welterweight championship with a unanimous
decision over Ian Garry in
the five-round co-main event at 170 pounds. Forced to go the
distance for the first time in his career, Rakhmonov (19-0, 7-0
UFC) swept the scorecards with 48-47 marks across the board.
The first two rounds were marked by extended periods of inactivity
on the feet, grueling clinches and occasional bursts of offense,
the majority of them from Rakhmonov. Garry (15-1, 8-1 UFC) started
to turn the corner in the third, where he attacked the lead leg
with repeated kicks, some directed at the calf and others pointed
just above the knee. Rakhmonov answered with two takedowns and a
potent dose of ground-and-pound in Round 4, and while he had taken
charge on the cards, he was far from out of harm’s way. Garry snuck
behind him in fifth, secured position with a body triangle and went
to work on several rear-naked choke variations. Rakhmonov withstood
them all, sprang a reversal, escaped to his feet and bled the
remaining time off the clock.
Up next for Rakhmonov: a likely showdown with welterweight champion
Belal
Muhammad in the first half of 2025.
Further down the main card, MMA Factory mainstay Ciryl Gane
improved to 2-0 in his head-to-head series against Alexander
Volkov with a contentious split decision over the former
Bellator MMA champion in their three-round heavyweight rematch. All
three cageside judges scored it 29-28: Eric Colon for Volkov,
Adalaide Byrd and Junichiro Kamijo for Gane.
Volkov (38-11, 12-5 UFC)—who dropped a unanimous verdict to the
Frenchman in 2021—survived a near-finish at the end of a
competitive first round, as the bell freed him from the clutches of
a tight guillotine choke. The 6-foot-7 Russian turned up the heat
in the middle stanza, where he appeared to land a majority of the
strikes of consequence against Gane (13-2, 10-2 UFC), his work
highlighted by perfectly timed spinning backfist that sent spit
flying. Neither man did much across the final five minutes. Volkov
procured a takedown, spent a significant amount of time
successfully defending a kimura and felt as though he had done
enough to salt away the victory. Two members of the judiciary felt
differently.
The setback snapped a four-fight winning streak for Volkov.
Elsewhere, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 27 semifinalist Bryce
Mitchell rebounded from his frightening Dec. 16 knockout loss
to Josh
Emmett, as he discarded Kron Gracie
with a violent slam and follow-up elbow strikes in the third round
of their featherweight attraction. Mitchell (17-2, 8-2 UFC) drew
the curtain 39 seconds into Round 3.
Gracie (5-3, 1-3 UFC) repeatedly pulled guard in a bid to avoid
standup exchanges in favor of operating from his back. The strategy
nearly paid off in the second round, where the 2013 Abu Dhabi
Combat Club Submission Fighting World Championship gold medalist
twice flirted with armbars. When Gracie jumped to guard early in
the third, Mitchell changed course, slammed him downward onto the
canvas and backed it up with two devastating elbows to the
face.
It was Mitchell’s first knockout win in 19 appearances as a
pro.
Finally, Busan Team MAD export Doo Ho Choi
put away former M-1 Global champion Nate
Landwehr with punches and elbows in the third round of their
featherweight appetizer. Landwehr (18-6, 5-4 UFC) succumbed to
blows 3:21 into Round 3.
Choi (16-4-1, 5-3-1 UFC) raced out to a quick lead and never looked
back. He paired accurate multi-punch combinations to the head and
body with sharp leg kicks and smooth takedowns. Eventually,
Landwehr wore down from all the punishment. Choi executed a
takedown inside the first minute of the third round, progressed to
a mounted crucifix and battered the defenseless Tennessee native
with punches and elbows until referee Chris Tognoni had seen
enough.
The 33-year-old Choi has posted back-to-back wins for the first
time since 2016.
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