UFC 310 in December was originally meant to feature two world title fights; a flyweight showdown between Alexandre Pantoja and Kai Asakura, followed by the welterweight scrap between Belal Muhammad and Shavkat Rakhmonov.
Unfortunately, it’s now been confirmed that one of those two bouts is off, with Belal Muhammad forced to withdraw from that final PPV of the year with an injury – will the UFC decide to book another title fight in its place, or promote the flyweights to the main event?
Alexandre Pantoja reacts to UFC 310 losing its main event ahead of title fight
Belal Muhammad has been forced out of his UFC 310 title fight after suffering a nasty bone infection during training, the welterweight champion has posted a video to his social media showing the grizzly extent of the injury.
At the time of writing, the UFC is searching for a possible replacement; either in the form of an interim title fight involving Rakhmonov, or a light heavyweight showdown between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev.
Should neither of those come to fruition, the promotion would likely promote Alexandre Pantoja vs Kai Asakura to the main event, and speaking to MMA Fighting just a few hours after the news broke, ‘The Cannibal’ was delighted to hear that was on the table.
“I’m super excited [because] I’m the main event right now,” stated Pantoja, explaining how the situation can be considered a win-win for him, especially given the added PPV share against the Japanese superstar.
“I think everybody has a good opportunity to see one of the best fights in MMA of the year… We’re bringing Asakura, a world champion from Japan, and I’m super happy with that.
“I think all MMA fans want to see that, i.e., the best in the UFC versus the best in another promotion, another champion of the world – and I have that opportunity… I’m very happy with that opponent and even more because I have the main event [spot] right now.
“Asakura is very popular in Japan and Japanese people buy a lot of PPVs too,” noted the popular flyweight champion, revealing that he’d heard rumors of Muhammad’s injury a few days before it went public.
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“Nobody has talked to me about anything like that [being promoted to main event status], it’s super new… I heard about Belal being hurt in the gym like two days before, and I said, ‘Is this right?’
“I’ve just seen a video of him in hospital, that’s a real problem there… That happens a lot in MMA gyms, some infections from the floor in the gym.”
Pantoja last competed at UFC 301 in May of this year, scoring a unanimous decision win over Australian contender Steve Erceg in what was a fabulous back-and-forth affair.
His UFC 310 opponent, Kai Asakura, will be making his promotional debut in December; after the former bantamweight champion was signed from RIZIN earlier this year.
Asakura is two years younger than Pantoja and is known for his devastating knockout power, with 13 of his 21 wins as a professional MMA fighter coming via KO/TKO.
UFC 310 is scheduled for December 7, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
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