There are five fights on the main card for UFC 310 on Saturday, December 7, with the main event. Flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja facing Kai Asakura in his UFC debut at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The fight card is scheduled to begin at 10:00 PM EST and will air ESPN+ PPV.
Fans interested in even more UFC content can find everything they want ESPN+. In addition to exclusive access to UFC pay-per-view events, it also offers on-demand replays of past UFC events and original programming.
Main event:
Featured fights from the undercard: Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Ian Machado Garry (Welterweight); Cyril Gane vs. Alexander Volkov (heavyweight); Bryce Mitchell vs. Kron Gracie (featherweight); Nate Landwehr vs. Dooho Choi (Featherweight)
When: Saturday, December 7th at 10:00 PM EST
Where: T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas
Transmission: ESPN+
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ESPN+ is a one-stop shop for content from almost every sport. In addition to on-demand game streams of all sports shown on the ESPN and Disney family of networks, there is also exclusive access to select college football games, NHL games, soccer games, UFC programming and the entire 30 for 30 catalog. Plus, there’s ESPN+ exclusive original programming like NFL Primetime, Dana White’s Contender Series and The Breakdown with Peyton and Belichick.
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By MARK ANDERSON AP Sports Writer
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Following a card headlined by Jon Jones is never an easy task, and UFC 310 certainly won’t sell many pay-per-views based on Saturday night’s main event alone.
But the card as a whole, even the prelims, is full of intriguing matchups and storylines to close out 2024.
Whether that’s enough to match the attention Jones received for a third-round TKO of Stipe Miocic on Nov. 16 at New York’s Madison Square Garden is another matter.
As for the main event, Alexandre Pantoja will defend his flyweight championship against UFC debutant Kai Asakura.
They replaced what was supposed to be the main event when welterweight champion Belal Muhammad pulled out due to a bone infection in his foot. Muhammad was due to fight Shavkat Rakhmonov, who now faces Ian Machado Garry in the co-main event. Rakhmonov (18-0) is the third opponent and Garry (15-0) is seventh.
Three other matches feature former champions: heavyweight Ciryl Gane, bantamweight Aljamain Sterling and middleweight Chris Weidman. Gane faces Alexander Volkov, Sterling will fight as a featherweight against Movsar Evloev and Weidman meets Eryk Anders.
Pantoja (28-5) is making his third title defense since winning a split decision over Brandon Moreno at UFC 290 on July 8, 2023. The 34-year-old followed that up with a pair of one-sided victories for unanimous decision
Those performances established him as the clear fighter in his class, and now Pantoja is headlining his second pay-per-view card this year. The first was in his native Brazil for UFC 301 on May 4 and now this one in what is still heralded by many as the fighting capital of the world.
“This is a gift that God gave me,” Pantoja said. “This is an opportunity to come here and do this main event. I think 2024 was a very good year for flyweights. I think it might be the best year for us.”
Asakura (21-4) will test his skills in the UFC for the first time at the age of 31. He was the bantamweight champion of the Rizin Fighting Federation, so stepping into the Octagon for the premier mixed martial arts organization is quite a leap for the Japan native.
BetMGM Sportsbook makes Pantoja the 2-5 favorite.
“UFC fans have never seen anyone fight like me,” Asakura said through an interpreter. “My goal is always to go for a KO. I’m an exciting fighter and I’m here to bring excitement back to the flyweight division.”
Asakura said he has been interested since he announced he was joining the UFC and has even been stopped in Vegas by fans curious about how his debut might go.
“I realize that there are some expectations about this event and this fight, and I will do my best to exceed those expectations and give the fans something very exciting,” Asakura said.
Pantoja said it made sense for the UFC to match him with Asakura, a champion from another organization, because he had beaten the top two contenders twice each.
“I looked at my rank and tried to figure out who my next opponent is going to be,” Pantoja said. “Then the UFC contacted Askaura. I think it’s a very good move. That’s the power of the UFC, bringing in a champion from another promotion.
“If you want to be the best fighter in the world, that’s what he thinks, you have to win the UFC belt.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.