Former UFC star breaks down main reason behind Kai Asakura's defeat to Alexandre Pantoja despite Japanese fighter's explosive fighting style

Alexandre Pantoja's path to victory against Kai Asakura from UFC 310 was a blueprint a former UFC combatant thinks he could borrow from in his upcoming contest.

Appearing on a recent episode of Bowks Talking Bouts, Jose 'Shorty' Torres touched on multiple topics ahead of his fight against Makoto Shinryu in a 130-pound catchweight bout as part of Rizin's New Year's Eve festivities.

As a former UFC flyweight preparing to make his Rizin debut, 'Shorty' Torres has a truly unique perspective on the UFC flyweight champion's performance against the former Rizin titleholder. When describing the nuances of how he felt Pantoja's performance earlier this month finishing Asakura had him taking notes to gameplan for his own Rizin New Year's Eve fight, Torres said:

"I need to survive the first round because they're [Rizin fighters] so fast and explosive and powerful. I mean I've trained with Kyoji Horiguchi, he's one of those guys. You're like oh dude, he hits hard... But if you can get him to the second and third round, they do gas out... I have from experience, Pantoja's caught me with a body triangle before."

"I'm like you're not gonna tap me out but dude, I can't get out. When you saw three-two minutes left on that clock, I knew it was going to be over. Because again, Rizin fighters aren't primarily known for being on the ground. Sure, they have their traits and some of them are phenomenal but they want to stand and bang. They want to put on a show for the fans."

Check out Jose Torres' assessment of the Pantoja vs. Asakura title fight below (19:23):

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Alexandre Pantoja and who his next challenge could be

Alexandre Pantoja retaining his title over the former Rizin bantamweight champion has many in the MMA world wondering who will be next to challenge for the UFC flyweight belt.

The No. 4-ranked contender in the weight class Kai Kara France has made his case recently for the next crack at the 125-pound strap. He stands out somewhat among a field of ranked contenders who have already fallen to Pantoja and would represent a somewhat fresh matchup. This is in the context of Kara France losing to Pantoja on season 24 of 'The Ultimate Fighter' in what is technically an exhibition bout.

The 34-year-old could also potentially fight Manel Kape in his next title defense with Kape moving up three spots recently to get to the No. 6 spot. However, this situation is a microcosm of the booking issue for Pantoja because Kape has previously lost to the reigning UFC flyweight champ on points during their Feb. 2021 UFC Fight Night clash.

'The Cannibal' has truly devoured most of the competition in his division and for Pantoja, it will be intriguing to see who the promotion books next for the Rio de Janeiro native.