UFC 310: Pantoja vs. Asakura was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 7, 2024, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Valley, United States.[2]

UFC 310: Pantoja vs. Asakura
The poster for UFC 310: Pantoja vs. Asakura
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateDecember 7, 2024 (2024-12-07)
VenueT-Mobile Arena
CityParadise, Nevada, United States
Attendance18,648[1]
Total gate$5,011,650[1]
Event chronology
UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Figueiredo UFC 310: Pantoja vs. Asakura UFC on ESPN: Covington vs. Buckley

Background

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A UFC Welterweight Championship bout between current champion Belal Muhammad and undefeated contender Shavkat Rakhmonov was scheduled to headline the event.[3] However due to a bone infection in his foot, Muhammad was forced to withdraw.[4] Rakhmonov instead faced Ian Machado Garry in a five-round co-main event.[5]

A UFC Flyweight Championship bout between current champion Alexandre Pantoja and former two-time Rizin Bantamweight Champion (also promotional newcomer) Kai Asakura was scheduled to be the co-headliner, but it was promoted to main event when the original headliner was cancelled.[3][5]

A heavyweight rematch between former interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Ciryl Gane and former Bellator Heavyweight World Champion Alexander Volkov was expected to take place at UFC 308, but it was moved to this event due to Volkov's knee injury.[6][7] The pairing previously headlined UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Volkov in June 2021 which Gane won by unanimous decision.[8]

A welterweight bout between former WEC and Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz (also former UFC Welterweight Championship challenger) and Vicente Luque was expected to take place at the event.[9] The pair was previously expected to meet at UFC on ABC: Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov, but the bout was removed from the event due to travel issues related to Diaz.[10] In turn, Diaz withdrew from the bout due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Themba Gorimbo.[11]

A featherweight bout between former UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling and Movsar Evloev took place at this event.[12] They were originally expected to face each other at UFC 307, but Sterling withdrew due to an injury.[13][14]

A women's strawweight bout between The Ultimate Fighter: Team Joanna vs. Team Cláudia strawweight winner Tatiana Suarez and former Invicta FC Strawweight Champion Virna Jandiroba was scheduled for this event.[15] However, Suarez reportedly withdrew from the fight due to an unspecified health issue and the bout was subsequently removed from the card.[16][17]

Former UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman and former LFA Middleweight Champion Eryk Anders were expected to meet in a middleweight bout at UFC 309, but Anders withdrew on the day of the event because of food poisoning the night before and the bout was scrapped.[18][19] They met in a catchweight bout of 195 pounds at this event.[17]

A heavyweight bout between Tallison Teixeira and Łukasz Brzeski was scheduled for this event.[20] However, Teixeira withdrew from the fight due to injury and was replaced by Kennedy Nzechukwu.[21]

In addition, Martin Buday and Rizvan Kuniev were scheduled to meet in a heavyweight bout.[22] However, Buday withdrew due to an injury and the bout was removed from the card.[23][24]

At the weigh-ins, The Return of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Volkanovski vs. Team Ortega middleweight tournament winner Bryan Battle weighed in at 175 pounds, four pounds over the welterweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and Battle was fined 30 percent of his purse which went to his opponent Randy Brown.[25]

Results

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Main card
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Flyweight Alexandre Pantoja (c) def. Kai Asakura Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) 2 2:05 [a]
Welterweight Shavkat Rakhmonov def. Ian Machado Garry Decision (unanimous) (48–47, 48–47, 48–47) 5 5:00
Heavyweight Ciryl Gane def. Alexander Volkov Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) 3 5:00
Featherweight Bryce Mitchell def. Kron Gracie KO (slam and elbows) 3 0:39
Featherweight Choi Doo-ho def. Nate Landwehr TKO (elbows) 3 3:21
Preliminary card (ESPN2 / FX / ESPN / Disney )
Light Heavyweight Dominick Reyes def. Anthony Smith TKO (elbows and punches) 2 4:46
Welterweight Vicente Luque def. Themba Gorimbo Technical Submission (anaconda choke) 1 0:52
Featherweight Movsar Evloev def. Aljamain Sterling Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Catchweight (175 lb) Bryan Battle def. Randy Brown Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Early preliminary card (ESPN / UFC Fight Pass / Disney )
Catchweight (195 lb) Eryk Anders def. Chris Weidman TKO (punches) 2 4:51
Flyweight Joshua Van def. Cody Durden Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 30–26, 30–27) 3 5:00
Welterweight Michael Chiesa def. Max Griffin Submission (rear-naked choke) 3 1:56
Lightweight Chase Hooper def. Clay Guida Submission (armbar) 1 3:41
Heavyweight Kennedy Nzechukwu def. Łukasz Brzeski TKO (punches) 1 4:51

[26]

Bonus awards

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The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[27]

  • Fight of the Night: No bonus awarded.
  • Performance of the Night: Alexandre Pantoja, Vicente Luque, Chase Hooper, and Kennedy Nzechukwu

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Mike Bohn (2024-12-08). "UFC 310 post-event facts: How does Alexandre Pantoja's resume stack up to Demetrious Johnson?". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-12-08.
  2. ^ Nolan King (2024-08-17). "Remainder of UFC schedule in 2024 fills out: 15 events across nine cities". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  3. ^ a b Nick Baldwin (2024-10-12). "Muhammad-Rakhmonov, Pantoja-Asakura set for UFC 310". thescore.com. Retrieved 2024-10-12.
  4. ^ Mike Heck (2024-10-31). "Belal Muhammad out of UFC 310 main event vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  5. ^ a b Farah Hannoun (2024-11-15). "Shavkat Rakhmonov meets Ian Machado Garry in five-round bout at UFC 310". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
  6. ^ Staff (2024-09-22). "Report: Alexander Volkov injury pushes Ciryl Gane rematch from UFC 308 to UFC 310". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  7. ^ Tristen Critchfield (2024-09-24). "Alexander Volkov suffers knee injury, withdraws from UFC 308 rematch vs. Ciryl Gane". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
  8. ^ Marc Raimondi (2024-06-13). "Ciryl Gane defeats Alexander Volkov via unanimous decision, says he's 'ready' for shot at heavyweight belt". espn.com. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
  9. ^ Staff (2024-09-25). "Nick Diaz vs. Vicente Luque rebooked for UFC 310". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  10. ^ Tristen Critchfield (2024-07-20). "Diaz vs. Luque postponed; 'Shara Bullet' vs. Oleksiejczuk added to UFC Abu Dhabi". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2024-09-27.
  11. ^ Andrew Ravens (2024-11-16). "Nick Diaz out of UFC 310, Themba Gorimbo fills in to fight Vicente Luque". mmanews.com. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
  12. ^ Nolan King (2024-09-27). "UFC 310 adds Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling rescheduled bout". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-09-27.
  13. ^ Nolan King (2024-09-18). "Aljamain Sterling out of UFC 307 vs. Movsar Evloev due to injury". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-09-18.
  14. ^ Adam Guillen (2024-09-23). "Salt Lake See Ya! Movsar Evloev bails on UFC 307 after no one agrees to fight". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  15. ^ Jed Meshew (2024-09-17). "Tatiana Suarez vs. Virna Jandiroba set for UFC 310 in December". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2024-09-17.
  16. ^ Damon Martin (2024-10-21). "Tatiana Suarez out of UFC 310 fight against Virna Jandiroba". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  17. ^ a b Nolan King (2024-11-20). "UFC squeezes Chris Weidman vs. Eryk Anders rebooking onto 2024 schedule". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
  18. ^ Nolan King (2024-11-16). "UFC 309 loses Chris Weidman vs. Eryk Anders minutes before event". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
  19. ^ Fernando Quiles (2024-11-17). "Eryk Anders issues statement following UFC 309 bout cancellation: 'There was no way I would have been able to go out there'". bjpenn.com. Retrieved 2024-11-17.
  20. ^ Parviz Iskenderov (2024-10-15). "UFC 310 fight card confirmed with Muhammad vs Rakhmonov atop final PPV for 2024". fightmag.com. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  21. ^ Łukasz Głębocki (2024-11-22). "Brzeski vs. Nzechukwu at UFC 310. A new rival for the Pole". gotowinasport.sts.pl. Retrieved 2024-11-22. (in Polish)
  22. ^ Staff (2024-10-25). "Rizvan Kuniev vs. Martin Budai at UFC 310". mma.bg. Retrieved 2024-10-25. (in Bulgarian)
  23. ^ Harvey Leonard (2024-11-21). "UFC 310 loses two more fights following main event switch-up". mmanews.com. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  24. ^ Nolan King (2024-11-27). "Two heavyweights withdraw from UFC 310; one fight backfilled". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-11-27.
  25. ^ Alexander K. Lee (2024-12-06). "UFC 310 weigh-in results: Bryan Battle misses weight by 4 pounds". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
  26. ^ "UFC 310: Pantoja vs. Asakura". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
  27. ^ Dan Hiergesell (2024-12-08). "Bonuses! Hooper, Luque bank $50K for impressive submission wins - UFC 310". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2024-12-08.