UFC 310 LIVE: Controversy over world title fight as debutant vows to ‘take over’ the flyweight division

Alexandre Pantoja is looking to defend his flyweight belt for the third time on Sunday, having previously taken care of rising Australian star Steve Erceg to cement his position on top of the division.

UFC 310: PANTOJA VS ASAKURA | SUN 8 DEC 2PM AEDT | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports. Main Event on Kayo Sports and Foxtel is the exclusive home of UFC Pay-Per-View.

A string of impressive wins quickly saw Erceg get his shot at the champion, although this time around Pantoja’s next challenger — Kai Asakura — is fighting for the title in his UFC debut.

The bout, which will be the main event in Sunday’s UFC 310 card, has not gone down well with some flyweight contenders, including Kiwi Kai Kara-France, who is coming off a TKO victory against Erceg and is yet to fight Pantoja since losing to him in The Ultimate Fighter.

“They’ve got the wrong Kai,” Kara-France told Sky Sports NZ.

“After my fight, I was calling for the title shot, and I was thinking, ‘Sweet, I’ve got it,’ and then I heard they’re bringing in a guy from Japan and his name is Kai. Bro, he hasn’t even fought yet.

“I don’t think he earns it. You’ve got to at least show your worth or do something for guys who have been grinding for years in the UFC division, fighting the best guys.”

Former RIZIN champion Asakura (21-4 MMA) received a title shot immediately after signing with the UFC and has vowed to “take over” the division.

“The UFC fans have never seen anybody like me fight before,” Asakura said.

“I always aim to go for the KO finish, and I’m here to bring excitement back to the flyweight division.”

Elsewhere, there are also high stakes in the co-main event as Shavkat Rakhmonov and Ian Machado Garry meet in a welterweight title eliminator.

You can follow the latest updates from UFC 310 in our live blog at the bottom of the page!

UFC 310 FULL FIGHT CARD

Main card

Alexandre Pantoja (c) vs. Kai Asakura — flyweight title

Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Ian Machado Garry — welterweights

Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov — heavyweights

Bryce Mitchell vs. Kron Gracie — featherweights

Nate Landwehr vs. Dooho Choi — featherweights

Prelims

Dominick Reyes vs. Anthony Smith — light heavyweights

Themba Gorimbo vs. Vicente Luque — welterweights

Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling — featherweights

Bryan Battle vs. Randy Brown — welterweights

Early prelims

Chris Weidman vs. Eryk Anders — catchweight

Josh Van vs. Cody Durden — flyweights

Max Griffin vs. Michael Chiesa — welterweights

Chase Hooper vs. Clay Guida — lightweights

Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Lukasz Brzeski — heavyweights

LIVE BLOG

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