Dana White might be the man of many shades! He usually surprises UFC fans with bold moves, and he did something similar last year. UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja’s domination has been giving shades of Demetrious Johnson’s 12-title-defense reign. To challenge that, the head honcho brought Japan’s absolute best superstar to try and dethrone him. That decision turned some heads, but Alexander Volkanovski found some solid reasons behind it.

Kai Asakura is one of the biggest names in the Japanese MMA scene! Fans believed he could be a real threat to the reigning 125-lb champ because of his knockout power. Add to that his status as a two-division Rizin champion, and you see why the hype was so real. The excitement around Asakura’s fighting style clearly captivated the UFC, leading them to hand him a title shot right away. That title shot came at UFC 310 (Dec. 7, 2024), when Asakura made his UFC debut against Pantoja in the main event — the bout ended with Pantoja submitting Asakura by rear-naked choke in round two.

Now, the former title challenger will open the card against Tim Elliott at UFC 319 in a high-stakes matchup. UFC 319 is scheduled for Aug. 16, 2025 at the United Center in Chicago, and the promotion officially lists Tim Elliott vs. Kai Asakura on that card. Before that fight, featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski had chimed in, reiterating the UFC’s reasoning for giving Asakura a title shot on debut. ‘The Great’ believes it was Asakura’s exciting style that enticed Dana White in the first place.  

The featherweight champ stated in his YouTube video, “Very aggressive and fun to watch, that’s why there was a lot of hype around him. The UFC wanted him to fight for the title, you know. They would’ve loved to see him right up there, even as the champion. He’s well-loved where he’s from, and there’s been a lot of hype around him, but he fought an absolute beast.”  

Well, Volkanovski hits the nail here! After Alexandre Pantoja defeated Brandon Moreno and Brandon Royval in multiple high-profile meetings and successfully defended his title in subsequent fights, and Steve Erceg also failed to beat him, the promotion had few options left but to bring in another hot champion from a different promotion to present a fresh challenge for ‘The Cannibal’. Although Asakura couldn’t climb the hill the first time, it doesn’t mean his dream of becoming the champion is over.

A win over Tim Elliott would put him right back in the mix for a possible title shot! However, it won’t be easy, as the featherweight champion also noticed certain challenges in this matchup that could cause problems for the Japanese superstar as well. 

Alexander Volkanovski is surprised that Kai Asakura is a favorite against Tim Elliott 

Asakura is one of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC and beyond. Still, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say the flyweight division’s waters are shark-infested! And there’s reason for concern after Pantoja choked him out with relative ease in the UFC 310 headliner. Bookmakers have made Asakura a clear favorite for his next fight — BestFightOdds recorded a market around -333 for Asakura as a snapshot, though different sportsbooks currently list Asakura in roughly the -270 to -340 range; odds movement is normal and reflects both public money and line settlement.

In a YouTube video, he explained, “Now, he’s coming up against Tim Elliott, good everywhere, very experienced, and he has fought everybody. Kai Asakura is the heavy favorite, which I’m surprised about. I thought maybe him coming off a loss, where Pantoja looked pretty incredible — you could almost say he made Kai look easy,  would hurt his odds.”

After talking about the odds, the featherweight champ still leaned toward the popular pick of Kai Asakura, saying, “So, I’m surprised Kai is this much of a favorite. When I break this down, looking at the odds, we’re probably leaning towards Kai.” Volkanovski might be picking Kai to win, but his point about the Japanese star being that heavy favorite has some merit. Noting that Tim Elliott’s recent run has been lackluster at best. And style-wise, he struggled against precise strikers. 

That’s why ‘The Great’ still sides with Asakura to get the job done, much like the oddsmakers. However, the fan reaction on X and Reddit tells a more split story — several threads and posts argue the UFC rushed Asakura into a title bout (some fans favour giving domestic stars more run in UFC matchmaking), while other pockets of the fanbase enthusiastically support the quick push because of Asakura’s name recognition in Japan and his highlight-reel style. That dichotomy helps explain why the UFC booked him for a title shot on debut and why public money might have pushed lines in his favor.

With that said, what do you think? Will Kai find his way back to a title shot? Or is he heading downhill from here? Comment your thoughts below!”