Athletes
Fighters on the Rise | UFC 310: Pantoja vs Asakura
Identifying Three Ascending Talents To Pay Close Attention To On Saturday Night
Through the first 13 pay-per-view events of 2024, competitors profiled in this space have amassed a 26-13 record inside the Octagon, with those victories often representing the biggest triumphs of their UFC careers.
To quote the immortal Meatloaf, “Two outta three ain’t bad,” but it’s not just the wins and losses that are meaningful here. It’s also crucial to point out that this series has highlighted a mix of rookies, sophomores, tenured talents making moves, and dark horses that deserved more attention, including Payton Talbott and Vinicius Oliveira, Bo Nickal and Diego Lopes, Khalil Rountree Jr. and Lerone Murphy, to name a few.
Writing this series before each event gives me a chance to shout out fighters that are in the midst of a solid run of success or poised to embark on such a journey (in my opinion, of course), and being able to put a spotlight on them, even briefly, has brought me a tremendous amount of pride and enjoyment for the decade that I’ve been doing it.
And so for the penultimate time this year, allow me to introduce you to three athletes set to make the walk this weekend that are trending upwards, with the potential to make waves this weekend and beyond.
This is the UFC 310 edition of Fighters on the Rise.
Kai Asakura
Outside of Seasons 20 and 26 of The Ultimate Fighter, where tournament finales crowned the inaugural champions in a pair of new divisions, it’s been over a decade since a competitor made their UFC debut in a championship pairing, as Asakura does this weekend when he challenges Alexandre Pantoja.
Kai Asakura | Among The Best
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Kai Asakura | Among The Best
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The 31-year-old Japanese debutant arrives with a 21-4 record overall, with 16 of his victories coming inside the distance, including a second-round stoppage of Juan Archuleta at Rizin 45 last December, the last time he fought.
That finishing power, and the diverse number of ways he can finish his opponents, is a big part of what makes Asakura such a fascinating challenger this weekend. In addition, the obvious pop he possesses in his hands and the way he utilizes knees to the body is devastating, and a preferred weapon he’s deployed with tremendous success throughout his career.
RELATED: Asakura Fighting For All Japan | Get To Know Kai
Asakura is a showman — the only thing he wants to do more than entertain is win, but he doesn’t necessarily prioritize the latter over the former. He is not someone that has traditionally taken the path of least resistance in order to secure a victory, and there is no reason to expect that to change now that he’s competing on the biggest stage in the sport.
His aggressiveness makes him an ideal dance partner for Pantoja, as the champion has never been opposed to getting into a brawl, but is at his best when he’s taking advantage of mistakes made by over-eager opponents. On paper, the Brazilian titleholder has a clear edge on the canvas, and one of the more interesting questions heading into this one is how Asakura will handle those grappling entanglements.
Saturday night, we’ll see if Asakura can become the first Japanese champion in UFC history.
Bryan Battle
Here’s what I wrote about Battle at the end of September in the Monthly Report, where the former Ultimate Fighter winner claimed “Breakout Performance” honors for his all-around effort when the UFC ventured to Accor Arena for the third time:
“The Butcher” went to Paris, carved up Kevin Jousset to push his unbeaten streak to four, and then dropped a classic ‘80s professional wrestling heel promo that punctuated his performance and elevated his profile.
During his fight, the broadcast team talked about how Battle had a different swagger about him all week, which was evident in the collection of chains he wore before and after his fight, and the way he marched around the Octagon during. He was completely unbothered by the offense Jousset was offering and seemed almost annoyed that they were in there for as long as they were, and then grabbed the mic afterwards and asked the disappointed, partisan crowd if they really thought he was going to go all the way to Paris to lose to a French guy?
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It was a perfect performance all the way around, and the next step forward for an emerging talent that has shown a tremendous amount of upside since his time as a member of Team Volkanovski.
Battle is 6-1 with one no contest in the UFC and 11-2 overall heading into his pivotal clash with Randy Brown this weekend at T-Mobile Arena. He’s finished five of those six wins, and was incensed when his fight with Ange Loosa was halted a minute into the second round as a result of an accident eye poke because he’d waited six months to step into the Octagon and didn’t want to go home empty handed.
Three of the Baddest Bryan Battle Moments
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Three of the Baddest Bryan Battle Moments
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The coachability and ability to implement pieces into his game that he showed when he was still a green newcomer on TUF has carried over now that he’s cut his hair, dropped a division, and garnered some valuable experience at the highest level, and it all has the 30-year-old North Carolina man looking like a dark horse in the welterweight division.
Saturday’s bout with Brown is the toughest assignment of Battle’s career to date; a clash with an 18-fight UFC veteran that has methodically worked his way to the fringes of the Top 15, riding a three-fight winning streak and having won seven of his last eight, with his lone setback coming against Jack Della Maddalena.
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This is the one that will tell us exactly where Battle is at in his development and what is reasonable to expect of him in 2025 and beyond. A victory will leave him knocking on the door of the rankings and validate all the bravado he showed last time out, while a loss would simply illustrate that he needs a little more seasoning before he’s ready to successfully take this step.
Every ascending talent has to go through a fight like this (or two) along the way, and we’ll see how Battle does with his first opportunity this weekend.
Chase Hooper
Because he still looks like he’s maybe 21, it’s easy to forget that Hooper has been in the UFC for five years and will be making the walk for the tenth time this weekend when he faces off with Clay Guida in the final early preliminary card fight of Saturday’s card.
The 25-year-old Washington state product has taken major steps forward over the last couple years, developing from the inconsistent featherweight that alternated wins and losses through his first six fights into a surging lightweight that touches down in Las Vegas on a three-fight winning streak and coming off the most impressive performance of his career.
Paired off with Viacheslav Borshchev in May, Hooper dropped his fellow Dana White’s Contender Series grad with an overhand left less than a minute into the contest and then spent the rest of the round battering “Slava Klaus,” primarily from mount. At the start of the second, he quickly closed the distance and re-engaged, dragging Borshchev back to the canvas, where he once again when to work, battering Team Alpha Male representative until he was able to lock up a brabo choke and secure the finish.
Saturday's Full Fight Card Preview
Hooper was a fascinating prospect when he turned up on the second season of the Contender Series, and now he’s not only grown into his tall, lanky frame, but has shown tremendous improvement in his striking, as well. When added to the smooth, attacking grappling he’s always brought to the table, it makes him an ascending threat to continue paying close attention to the 155-pound weight class.
Chase Hooper Submits Viacheslav Borshchev | UFC St. Louis
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Chase Hooper Submits Viacheslav Borshchev | UFC St. Louis
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Guida represents another quality test for “The Dream” as he aims to keep working forward in the division. The 42-year-old Hall of Fame inductee still has an incredible motor and is the kind of game veteran that is more than capable of spoiling your coming out party if you don’t get on him from the jump. Though he’s dropped back-to-back contests, each came on the scorecards, and he’s proven his durability and resilience too many times to count over the years.
As solid as Hooper has looked over these last three, it’s almost guaranteed that there is still further development and growth in his future, as he’s yet to reach his athletic prime and has just now reached a point where he’s fully settled in to competing at this level. A win over Guida will further highlight the improvements he’s made over these last couple years, and position him to be one of the top young talents to watch heading into 2025.
UFC 310: Pantoja vs Asakura took place live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 7, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!