UFC Insider makes his opinion clear Kai Asakura facing massive pressure ahead of Alexandre Pantoja debut fight: "So much on this guy"

Kai Asakura will make his octagon debut against Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 310 on Dec. 7. It will be arguably the biggest fight of his career to date, and former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen believes the pressure is mounting for the flyweight division's newest addition.

'The American Gangster' believes that the pressure faced by the promotional newcomer may affect him drastically in the fight. Sonnen noted that his respect for Asakura increased after he accepted a title fight in his first-ever UFC appearance.

The former fighter was recently interviewed by Helen Yee, where he discussed the UFC 310 main event and its participants. He said:

"It's different when you go to a new organization. It smells different, the way they call you in the back is different, the crew in the back [is different]. For Asakura to come over into this kind of environment, he's gonna close out the night over world champions like Chris Weidman... There is a massive amount of pressure on him." [2:45-3:18]

He continued:

"The reason I bring up the pressure and the new-ness of the octagon, it creates a fatigue. If you have the pressure on you or feel more pressure than the other guy, there's a chemical release in your brain called adrenaline. It creates a fatigue throughout your body. It's a very big deal that you can stay, or that you go into an environment you're familiar with. I really respect that Asakura is coming over and even signed on for this. To walk out at the end of night after world champions and the fight capital of the world in the year-end event, it's so much on this guy." [4:33-5:02]

Catch Chael Sonnen discuss Kai Asakura's debut below:

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Israel Adesanya picks Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura as his "sleeper fight" for UFC 310

UFC 310 will feature numerous exciting matchups, with Alexandre Pantoja and Kai Asakura set to clash in the main event.

But Israel Adesanya believes that while the flyweight title fight may be headlining the card, it might be the most overlooked bout of the entire event. 'The Last Stylebender' recently broke down the 125-pound clash, where he said:

"[Pantoja] also knows how to scrap... A guy like this, Kai, you just have to make him pay... Who has made him pay yet for being reckless? You have to have someone who is confident in their skills enough to not fear [Asakura's] barrage."

He continued:

"Pantoja can grapple. I'm sure [Asakura] is very well versed. But this is going to be a crazy fight. This might be the sleeper fight for f**k sake! And it's the main event."

Check out Israel Adesanya's comments on Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura below (15:45):