Alexandre Pantoja chokes out Kai Asakura in UFC 310 main event

The final UFC pay-per-view of the year was headlined by a flyweight title bout on Saturday.  Champion Alexandre Pantoja put his title on the line for the third time in the UFC 310 main event against Japanese standout Kai Asakura.  

Pantoja entered the championship fight at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas riding a six-fight winning streak.  Asakura, in a rare occurrence, received a title shot in his promotional debut.  The knockout artist made a name for himself in the Rizin promotion and planned to make a gigantic splash in his first octagon appearance. 

They touched gloves.  Pantoja pressed forward.  Asakura landed a jumping knee.  Pantoja quickly looked for a takedown.  Asakura circled free.  Pantoja landed a clean right hand that may have hurt the challenger.  They clinched before Pantoja gained top position with just under four minutes in the round.  Asakura get back to his feet and landed a right hand.  Asakura delivered a hard inside leg kick.  Pantoja responded with a left hand.  Asakura connected with a knee to the body.  Pantoja landed a counter right hand.  Pantoja, in his classic style, pressed forward.  Asakura closed the distance with a left hand.  

Pantoja moved into the pocket with a combination.  He looked for a takedown and came back up with punches.  Pantoja countered with a knee.  Pantoja landed a right hand.  Pantoja delivered a powerful kick to the body.  MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Pantoja.  

Pantoja landed his jab to start the second.  He closed the distance and Asakura met him with a combination.  Pantoja clinched and they worked for position along the cage.  Pantoja worked to take Asakura's back.  Pantoja took his back and quickly applied a body triangle.  Pantoja applied a rear-naked choke.  Asakura went to sleep!

Pantoja remained the champion and extended his winning streak to seven fights.  The official time of the stoppage was 2:05 of the second round.