It’s main card time, and a pair of exciting flyweights will start
off this $85 event—regional pricing notwithstanding. After over a
year and a half away, elder statesman Elliott (20-13-1, 9-11 UFC)
comes back to the cage to take on former title challenger and
ex-Rizin champ Asakura (21-5, 0-1 UFC). The latter is looking for
his first UFC win, as he was thrust into a championship opportunity
in his December debut, and he fights down the rankings board to
find his place in the division. The two will have referee Rob
Madrigal overseeing what should be a fun one, and they do not tap
their gloves together to engage. Elliott fakes a giant spinning kick to lead off, and he lowers his
hands and starts tossing out flashy kicks. Asakura answers him with
two powerful punches upstairs, and Elliott still does not pick his
hands up. Elliott hops up and down while switching stances, drawing
out a few more punches that he avoids successfully before pitching
a head kick. Elliott spins with a back kick, and he absorbs three
punches to the body and head from the Japanese flyweight. Asakura
bears down on Elliott to strike him a few times, and he rocks the
former Glory MMA fighter with his big swings. Elliott swings back
hard too, and he nods to Asakura that he got caught. Elliott waves
his hands around awkwardly waiting for Asakura to engage, and he
misses his strikes including an open-handed slap. Asakura nails the longtime vet with a right hand and a left hook
that drives Elliott to the wall, but Elliott bounces away no harm
done. Asakura beats his man to the punch with his long strikes, and
Elliott’s offense is barely going at all. Asakura puts a one-two
down the pipe that cuts open Elliott’s left eyebrow, and he gets
off a knee to the body and several punches after it. Elliott
bounces back, landing a single low kick but getting potshotted by
Asakura. Elliott tags his foe at the end of a single right hand,
but it is one-and-done as he gets back to unorthodox movements and
attacks like a cartwheel kick. Asakura boots Elliott upside the
head, and Elliott ducks down and secures a double to advance
immediately to the side. Elliott spams surprisingly heavy knees to
the body to open up elbows, and he briefly traps Asakura’s arm
beneath his leg to open up more strikes. Elliott elbows a few more
times, and Asakura scrambles to stand as the round concludes. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Asakura Devin Tejada scores the round: 10-9 Asakura Scottie Smith scores the round: 10-9 Asakura

As the second round begins, Elliott motions to the crowd to get
excited and then somersaults towards his opponent. Asakura ignores
it and lets Elliott stand up so he can plant his fist in his face.
Elliott’s strange movement opens up a heavy left hand for him, and
he connects a second in the middle of Asakura’s counters. Chants in
favor of Elliott rain down, but no one does anything to take
advantage of that energy. Asakura scores a leg kick, and Elliott
goes to the body and then flails his way forward with fists flying.
Elliott slips and rips with a left hand, and he winds up another
and catches Asakura flush on the jaw. Asakura comes up short with a
flying knee, and Elliott dodges the worst of them and is right back
in Asakura’s face with a left hook zooming. Asakura times a solid
right hand with Elliott ducking, and Elliott just smiles at him.
How demoralizing. Elliott jams Asakura in the knee with a pair of stomping kicks, and
his low kicks that follow disrupt the wide-swinging Asakura.
Elliott keeps himself afloat with decent movement, especially
upstairs, but he still takes the occasional power punch that turns
his different parts of his face a shade of crimson. Elliott runs at
his opponent and secures a takedown, but when he circles to take
the back, Asakura is able to escape. Asakura just misses with two
booming hooks, and Elliott is as wild as ever as he ducks some
punches, dances around and shoots with a takedown. Asakura sits up,
and Elliott threatens with a guillotine choke and uses it to
relocate himself to full mount. Asakura pushes with all his might
to relieve the pressure, but his eyes start to bulge and his face
changes colors. Even with little time left in the round, Asakura
cannot ride it out any longer. The former Rizin champ taps out
twice on the hip, and Elliott has just pulled off quite an upset.
The year is 2025 and Tim Elliott has just finished a fight over a
man many years his junior.

This one is for all the marbles at the flyweight division. Fast
approaching the cliff age of 35, Pantoja (28-5, 12-3 UFC) wants to
further cement his legacy and turn away a heavy-handed contender
new to the promotion. One of a very small number of fighters in the
modern era that received a title shot without ever competing in the
Octagon, Asakura (21-4, 0-0 UFC) wants to be the first to actually
win when given the opportunity. The exciting stylistic clash will
be governed by referee Jason Herzog, who brings the fighters
together to bump gloves. It’s on with the show. Pantoja takes to
the center of the cage, kicking the front leg and rushing forward
directly into a flying knee. Asakura defends the takedown when
landing, and Pantoja is after him hellbent for leather. Pantoja
blasts the challenger in the face with a left hand, and Asakura
keeps himself upright largely thanks to the wall behind him.
Pantoja considers changing levels, perhaps not aware of the damage
he caused, but he strips Asakura’s legs away and climbs into top
position a minute in. Asakura is warned for striking the back of
the head as Pantoja settles down on top of him, and Pantoja is not
opening up with offense and instead has his hands trapped. Asakura
times an explosion from his foe to jump back to his feet. Asakura
reaches his target with a right hand, and he gets knocked back by
the champ. Asakura scores a few low kicks, lets his hands go and
slides away. Pantoja chases him, mostly hitting air but getting a
strike from the Japanese fighter. Asakura times a perfect knee on
the solar plexus, and Pantoja walks him down fearlessly throwing
heaters. Asakura scores another big knee, and he works at the front
leg as Pantoja bears down on him. Asakura rushes out to connect
with a left hand, and Pantoja gets off a low kick and whiffs on a
subsequent one-two. Asakura wraps his foot around Pantoja’s guard,
and the champ retaliates with a heavy inside leg kick. Pantoja
strings a few punches together and ends the combination with a
knee, and Asakura just smiles at him. Asakura misses with a low
kick and eats a body kick for his handiwork, with Pantoja in and
out in a flash. Pantoja blitzes him with a few heavy punches up
top, and he slams his shin on the side to conclude another flurry.
Asakura backpedals but still absorbs a flush body kick, and he is
intercepted on the way up when trying to fly with a knee. The
intense round ends. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Pantoja Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Pantoja Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Pantoja

The flyweights clap hands to get going again, and they meet in the
middle and pick their shots. Pantoja snaps out a jab that surprises
his opponent, and Asakura backs himself to the wall so he can clip
Pantoja with counters. Pantoja dives after a takedown, and when
Asakura predictably and effectively scrambles, Pantoja hops around
to take his back standing. Pantoja wraps his leg around the waist,
but his other hook is unable to loop around the back. Pantoja jumps
on the back as soon as Asakura exposes it when trying to escape,
and the flyweights hit the floor. Pantoja fastens an immediate body
lock, squeezing the Japanese fighter’s breadbasket while
simultaneously attacking a rear-naked choke. Pantoja secures the
choke, and Asakura frantically fights off the choke arm to stay in
the fight. The Brazilian readjusts his grip, and he slinks it
completely under the chin to make it academic. While Asakura is
fighting the hands, suddenly he gives up on it as consciousness
leaves his body. Asakura’s arm falls limp by his side, and Herzog
tests it a few times to make sure that Asakura is out. Asakura is
all the way out, his eyes stuck open as the lights are on but no
one’s home. Herzog calls a halt to the main event, and “The
Cannibal” has done it again, making it look easy by spurning a
dangerous contender. The victorious Pantoja hands Asakura his first
submission loss, although Asakura went out on his shield and had no
interest in tapping out. Pantoja declares that this is his
division, his town and his Octagon, and that no one will challenge
him as long as he is the champ. Fresh challengers will be few and
far between, but someone will emerge before long as the next test
for the champ. Pantoja has now notched three straight defenses of
his 125-pound throne, and he is only eight behind divisional leader
Demetrious Johnson—a man that he calls out in his post-fight
interview. If all-time great Johnson decided to come out of
retirement and return to the organization, we will be here for it.
We hope you are too.

Kai Asakura

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