The former Rizin bantamweight champion Kai Asakura makes his return to the UFC octagon at UFC 319 against Tim Elliot. Despite his one-sided loss to the dominant UFC flyweight champion, Alexandre Pantoja, Asakara now feels truly prepared for the UFC atmosphere and rules set as the Japanese star would state at his media day press conference.
“Yes, I wanted to return sooner, but I use this time to improve and deal with my weaknesses and I’m already here. I have experienced the UFC style now. Last match was my first time, so I was not really getting used to how UFC style works. But now I have experienced it.”

Kai Asakura is looking for redemption in the UFC.
Despite reaching for the stars in his UFC debut, he came up short against one of the best flyweight champions of all time. Now fighting down the rankings to face off against former title challenger Tim Elliot, this is where we truly see where Kai Asukara stands in the UFC, as this may be a do-or-die fight for the biggest star in Japanese MMA.