Who is Kai Asakura? Learn all about the Japanese phenom who will fight for the flyweight title on his UFC debut in December
The signing of Kai Asakura to the UFC turned into a major headline in the MMA world. On June 8, during the RIZIN 47 broadcast, RIZIN president Nobuyuki Sakakibara announced that Asakura, the organization's bantamweight champion, would be leaving the Japanese promotion to pursue his UFC career.
Known for his knockout power and impressive fight IQ, UFC fans have eagerly awaited the Japanese fighter's promotional debut. It has now come to light that Asakura will face UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja in the co-main event of UFC 310, which is scheduled for Dec. 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
With the flyweight title on the line, Asakura will attempt at making history by becoming a champion in his very first UFC bout and also the first Japanese champion of the organization.
Everything you need to know about Kai Asakura
Kai Asakura was born on Oct. 31, 1993, in Toyohashi, Aichi, Japan. In his early years, driven by his passion for martial arts, he trained in karate and sumo. As a child, he and his older brother Mikuru Asakura, also a professional MMA fighter, frequently found themselves in street fights. Their rough upbringing led them to the world of MMA, as their mother encouraged them to channel their aggression into boxing.
Asakura began his formal mixed martial arts training in high school when Mikuru introduced him to the Zen Dokai Toyohashi Dojo. There, he fell in love with MMA and started taking his training seriously. He competed in amateur MMA under the Rings: The Outsider banner, a promotion aimed at rehabilitating troubled youths.
Asakura made his professional MMA debut in 2012 and quickly climbed the ranks in Japan. He fought for promotions like DEEP and Fighting Network Rings before joining RIZIN in 2017. Asakura’s debut at RIZIN Fighting World Grand Prix 2017 was an immediate success, as he knocked out Kizaemon Saiga in the second round.
Asakura's career-defining moment came at RIZIN 18 in 2019 when he knocked out then-bantamweight champion Kyoji Horiguchi in the first round. This stunning upset sent shockwaves through the MMA world and solidified his place as one of Japan’s premier fighters. Though he lost the rematch to Horiguchi, Asakura continued to excel, capturing the RIZIN bantamweight championship twice and compiling an impressive list of victories.
Asakura wields a solid record of 21 wins and four losses, with an impressive 76% finish rate. He has defeated notable fighters like Kyoji Horiguchi and Juan Archuleta, while also holding a victory over UFC flyweight title contender Manel Kape.
Asakura has also built a massive following on YouTube. His channel, KAI Channel has over 1.36 million subscribers and more than 615 million views. He shares his training routines, lifestyle content, and vlogs on the channel and has emerged as one of the most prominent names to emerge from the modern MMA landscape in Asia.
Brandon Royval wants to fight Kai Asakura in Japan
Brandon Royval recently declined a fight offer against Kai Asakura for UFC 305 in Perth, citing financial and logistical reasons. While intrigued by the matchup with the former RIZIN bantamweight champion, Royval explained that the risks didn’t outweigh the rewards.
The No. 1-ranked UFC flyweight emphasized that the fight needed to be worth his time, including better compensation or a guaranteed title shot, neither of which were offered to him.
Gearing up to face Tatsuro Taira in UFC Vegas 98’s main event, Royval noted that he's earned his spot in the division and now values himself accordingly. Speaking in an interview with MMA Fighting, Royval said that while he passed on the prospect of the fight, he would like to lock horns with Asakura eventually:
“I kinda wanna fight Kai Asakura in Japan. Japan is a dream. Kai Asakura is sick. That gets me out of bed, and I want to fight for a f*cking belt. If they want to hype Kai, then I want to take that.”