Kai Asakura plans to stay at bantamweight after first UFC win

Kai Asakura believes he has found the right weight class for himself. 

Asakura (22-6) took on Cameron Smotherman in a bantamweight tilt at UFC Macau on Saturday Asakura violently knocked out Smotherman less than two minutes into the opening round, also earning himself a $100,000 performance bonus. The Japanese standout believes he may finally have found his right weight class after moving up from flyweight.

“Having moved up to this division and having actually done this fight, I definitely do feel like this is the right one for me,” Asakura said in a post-fight interview with the UFC. “I think in terms of the power, the strength and the speed this division is right for me.”

Asakura came to the UFC as the highly-touted Rizin Fighting Federation bantamweight champion. However, Asakura started his UFC career at flyweight, where he took on the toughest matchup, challenging Alexandre Pantoja for the title in 2024. Pantoja derailed Asakura’s hype train by putting him to sleep with a rear-naked choke. Asakura then faced Tim Elliott at UFC 319 last year. Elliott forced Asakura to tap with a guillotine choke.