Alexandre Pantoja relives UFC 310 victory walkout after defeating Kai Asakura, eager to feel the thrill again: "I can't wait"

At UFC 310, Alexandre Pantoja left no doubt in anyone's mind that he is the world's best flyweight, and he is eager to prove it again, having defended the divisional throne months ago against a challenger from the East in Japan's Kai Asakura, a former Rizin bantamweight champion.

Unfortunately, he was overmatched and little more than a lamb taken to the slaughterhouse. On Instagram, Pantoja shared a clip of his return to the backstage area after submitting Asakura in round two, expressing a desire to return to the octagon to continue his exceptional run at flyweight.

"I can't wait to feel it again!"

While Asakura was game and had the makings of a superstar, he ultimately fell flat and hasn't been mentioned since, despite being one of the fresher faces in the division. Pantoja afforded him almost no moment of success, swarming him with relentless pressure before identifying the glaring hole in his foe's game: grappling.

The Brazilian king had perhaps his easiest title defense against Asakura, choking him out with a rear-naked choke to defend his flyweight title for the third time and end Asakura's hype train. Unfortunately, he is short on challengers. He has defeated most of the fighters often injected in the title pictures.

Those he hasn't yet faced have either lost to someone he has beaten, or they're currently struggling for form. The thinness of the flyweight division is such that prior to Asakura, Pantoja was forced to scour the bottom of the barrel and defend his title against Steve Erceg, who was ranked #10 at the time.

---

Alexandre Pantoja still has options for his return

While the flyweight division sorts itself out, Alexandre Pantoja has been linked to two matchups in particular. The first is a possible rematch with former flyweight kingpin Deiveson Figueiredo, to whom he has already lost in the past. He will be eager to right the wrong of his defeat to him.

Meanwhile, Figueiredo will not turn down an immediate title shot after his bantamweight championship dreams came to a sudden halt. The other matchup being discussed for Pantoja is a potential champion vs. champion bout with the tireless Merab Dvalishvili, who rules at bantamweight.