Dana White praises Kai Asakura's performance and doesn't hide his enthusiasm for a possible partnership with RIZIN: 'This is exciting'

Dana White was pleased with Kai Asakura 's performance at UFC 310. Photo: Reproduction/YouTube/UFC

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The main event of UFC 310 was not only a thrilling flyweight battle (up to 56,7 kg), but also an episode that could mark the beginning of a partnership between two of the world's largest MMA organizations. Although champion Alexandre Pantoja submitted RIZIN import fighter Kai Asakura , the Japanese fighter's performance impressed Dana White and could represent the first step in the Ultimate's expansion into the Japanese market.

In a press conference after UFC 310 , the UFC president highlighted Kai Asakura 's courage , who, even in his debut in the organization and under the typical pressure of that situation, started the fight aggressively. Dana also praised the fight and stated that he would have liked to have watched more rounds of that action.

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“There are two sides to this story. You take a guy like Asakura, who’s just coming into the UFC for the first time. We talked about the nerves and all the stuff that goes on, your first time fighting in a cage, etc. And he came out swinging, landing a flying knee right off the bat. Then Pantoja, the way he put the pressure back on. Who in this room wouldn’t want to see three more rounds of that? It would have been incredible. It was a great fight, and Pantoja came out and dominated,” White said.

Partnership between UFC and Rizin?

Dana White wasn’t the only promoter on hand to watch the flyweight title fight. RIZIN president Nobuyuki Sakakibara was also in attendance to watch the bout. The former PRIDE boss met with his old rival before and after the event. While it’s unclear what, if any, involvement the Japanese official had, White expressed an interest in maintaining a good relationship to collaborate and expand the market in similar ways.

“We did that tonight. He had a good performance. I would love to do that. To have these up-and-coming Japanese fighters, we were talking in my dressing room. He’s saying that now in Japan, all these young guys want to be the first to win a world title in the UFC. That’s exciting. There’s such a rich history of MMA in Japan. Some of the best days of my life were during our rivalry with PRIDE. It was a really fun time in my life and in his life as well. We talked about it, so the answer is yes to all of that. I would love to do a Fight Night there as well,” concluded Dana White.

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