Kai Asakura called the "real deal" by UFC champ as he flexes ripped physique with UFC 310 a few weeks away

With UFC 310 two weeks away, Kai Asakura is hard at work ensuring he will be in prime physical condition, with Merab Dvalishvili expressing astonishment over his physique. A recent Instagram post from ESPN MMA was a showcase of just how seriously Asakura is taking his debut.

It featured several pictures of an in-training Asakura, who has leaned out tremendously for his upcoming bout, looking both well-muscled and extremely vascular. Moreover, it also shared clips of his various wins under the Rizin banner, where he reigned as the bantamweight champion.

While it is normally fans who flock to the comment section to sing a fighter's praises, this time was not the case. Instead, Dvalishvili, reigning UFC bantamweight champion, regarded the surging Japanese contender with respect, despite his lack of a UFC record.

"He is real deal"

A screenshot of Merab Dvalishvili's comment about Kai Asakura

Asakura's fight with Pantoja, which takes place on Dec. 7, will be the biggest contest of his career. Hardly any fighter is awarded a title shot on their promotional debut, but the UFC has opted to make an exception for Asakura, largely due to the lack of an identifiable title contender at flyweight.

Furthermore, due to the bout being Asakura's debut with the promotion, he is unranked in the UFC, which marks an ultra-rare instance of an unranked fighter being given a crack at a world title. While many may be critical of the decision due to a perceived lack of merit on Asakura's part, similar cases have happened.

Pantoja previously defended his flyweight title at UFC 301 against the then #10 ranked Steve Erceg, who mounted a respectable attempt. So, it will be up to Asakura to give a good account of himself against the champion to justify the UFC's gamble.

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Kai Asakura is not lacking in world championship experience

While he is yet to fight in the UFC, Kai Asakura is no stranger to fighting for world championship. Under the Rizin banner, he fought thrice for the bantamweight title, coming up short in his first attempt against Manel Kape, who TKO'd him and has since signed with the UFC himself.

Check out Kai Asakura in action:

However, Asakura managed to capture the belt with a knockout of Hiromasa Ougikubo months later. Unfortunately, he failed to find success in his first title defense, dropping the belt to the great Kyoji Horiguchi in a knockout loss.

Afterward, he took part in a bantamweight grand prix, eventually TKO'ing Juan Archuleta to reclaim the title.