UFC 319 Preview and Prediction: Kai Asakura – Tim Elliott

Kicking off the PPV main card tomorrow night at UFC 319 is a fun scrap in the flyweight division between two former title challengers. 11th ranked Tim Elliott (20-13-1) makes his return as he takes on former RIZIN champion Kai Asakura (21-5).

Starting with Tim Elliott, this is the first time that we’ve seen him since December of 2023 when he submitted Sumudaerji in the first round. He was supposed to fight Tatsuro Taira in April 2024 after that win, but he pulled out of the fight and we haven’t seen him since. Dating back to March 2022, Elliott is 3-1 in his last four fights.

He’ll look to keep Kai Asakura in the winless column when it comes to the UFC. Asakura made his octagon debut back in December when he faced Alexandre Pantoja for the flyweight title. Asakura was just outmatched in that fight and was ultimately submitted in the second round. Asakura got that title shot on the heels of stopping Juan Archuleta in RIZIN for their bantamweight title.

UFC 319 Prediction

Tim Elliott is a wild man and you should expect him to look for takedowns early on and try to force scrambles with Asakura. One thing is for sure and that’s that Tim Elliott does not want to stand and trade with Asakura who is one of the most powerful strikers in the flyweight division.

The fight is going to come down to takedowns and whether or not Asakura can keep this one standing. It’s hard to judge Tim Elliott ahead of this fight because he’s turning 39 this year and we haven’t seen him in a long time. While he’s a very crafty veteran, I think we are going to see Kai Asakura shine at UFC 319.

Elliott has never been finished by strikes in his entire career, but I think that changes tomorrow night. I think the power and speed of Asakura will ultimately break him down which will lead to Asakura getting his first UFC win in spectacular fashion.

Prediction: Kai Asakura by TKO