Kai Asakura returned to bantamweight at UFC Macau and knocked out Cameron Smotherman in the first round, giving the former RIZIN champion his first UFC win after two submission losses at flyweight.
Asakura entered the UFC in 2024 with an immediate flyweight title shot against Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 310. Pantoja submitted him in the second round, and Tim Elliott submitted him with a mounted guillotine at UFC 319 in his next appearance.
Watch the official UFC highlight below:
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Asakura pressed forward early, landed a right hand that forced Smotherman back toward the fence, then followed with the left hook that dropped him. The official UFC highlight page lists the result as a knockout at 1:50 of Round 1.
Asakura Needed A Bantamweight Reset
Asakura built his best work at bantamweight in RIZIN, where he became a two-time champion and beat Kyoji Horiguchi, Manel Kape, and Juan Archuleta. The move back to 135 pounds gave him a cleaner fit after the Pantoja and Elliott losses exposed the flyweight version of his UFC run.
Smotherman entered with UFC wins over Jake Hadley and Serhiy Sidey, followed by a decision loss to Ricky Simon. He had enough Octagon time to make this a real test, not a padded comeback fight.
The result gives Asakura a usable restart in a bantamweight division that does not hand out easy climbs. A ranked fight would be a big jump after one UFC win at 135 pounds, but another established bantamweight would show whether his speed and power hold up beyond a needed rebound night in Macau.
