Kai Asakura
Skill profile
Built on 24 minutes of tracked cage time across 4 statted fights — every axis is held down until there is more tape, so read this as a sketch rather than a verdict.
Career rates — the raw numbers behind the chart
Insider info
Kai Asakura favored over Aoriqileng clear UFC Fight Night: Nurmagomedov vs. Song · August 19, 2026
Concludes he should be fine here after weighing the opponent's natural-weight advantage, landing on the pick without much remaining doubt.
A well-rounded, scrappy finisher whose knee game and combination volume stand out, with real grappling upside undercut by a genuine question mark in his own submission defense.
Kai Asakura favored over Cameron Smotherman clear UFC Fight Night: Song vs Figueiredo · May 26, 2026 · 1 read since
Picked clearly -- the analyst says he'd be surprised if this fighter doesn't win, while noting he hasn't won in the UFC yet as a real caveat.
Solid striker with a good step-in knee and a very good flying knee -- both called genuinely great, hard-to-defend weapons. Good combinations, good volume, good feints, kicks to all levels, and recovers quickly when hurt. Has a real grappling advantage in this specific matchup -- grappling has been a weakness against much higher-level competition in the past, but this opponent isn't at that level -- with good scrambles, good throws, good back-taking, and good ground and pound. Rated the favorite on the feet as well. Notably still winless in the UFC (0-2) despite being a heavy favorite here, and this is a significant step down in competition from his prior UFC opposition.
Gap-fill reads
Kai Asakura favored over Aoriqileng clear agrees with 138 MMA Half The Battle · UFC Fight Night: Nurmagomedov vs. Song · August 27, 2026
A crowd-pleasing knockout striker with a long highlight reel from outside the UFC, rated as the smoother and more stylish of the two on the feet. The trade-off is explicit: an aggressive, high-risk approach means he gets caught from time to time as well. His clearest liability is the mat, and the reason this specific matchup is liked for him is that his opponent has no interest in taking it there. Coming off a first UFC win against admittedly weak opposition, the expectation is that the right matchmaking produces the sort of finishes he built his reputation on.
Striking trend
Fight history
W Aoriqileng 25-13 walk-in KO/TKO · R2 0:34 — UFC Fight Night: Nurmagomedov vs. Song · August 29, 2026
W Cameron Smotherman 1-2 walk-in KO/TKO · R1 1:50 — UFC Fight Night: Song vs. Figueiredo · May 30, 2026
L Tim Elliott 20-13-1 walk-in Submission · R2 4:39 — UFC 319: Du Plessis vs. Chimaev · August 16, 2025
L Alexandre Pantoja 28-5 walk-in TITLE Submission · R2 2:05 — UFC 310: Pantoja vs. Asakura · December 7, 2024
Walk-in records count UFC bouts in this database. For the pre-UFC career, see the record breakdown below or the Tapology button up top.
Record breakdown
Wins by method
Losses by method
Fights by organization
Full career — 27 fights, every organization
| Opponent | Method | Event | Org | Rd | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | Cameron Smotherman | KO (punch) | UFC Fight Night: Song vs. Figueiredo
May 30, 2026 |
UFC | 1 | 1:50 |
| L | Tim Elliott | Submission (guillotine choke) | UFC 319
August 16, 2025 |
UFC | 2 | 4:39 |
| L | Alexandre Pantoja | Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC 310
December 7, 2024 |
UFC | 2 | 2:05 |
| W | Juan Archuleta | TKO (knee to the body and punches) | Rizin 45
December 31, 2023 |
Rizin | 2 | 3:20 |
| W | Yuki Motoya | KO (knee to the body) | Rizin 42
May 6, 2023 |
Rizin | 3 | 2:25 |
| L | Hiromasa Ougikubo | Decision (unanimous) | Rizin 33
December 31, 2021 |
Rizin | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Alan Yamaniha | Decision (unanimous) | Rizin 30
September 19, 2021 |
Rizin | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Shooto Watanabe | TKO (punches) | Rizin 28
June 13, 2021 |
Rizin | 1 | 3:22 |
| L | Kyoji Horiguchi | KO (punches) | Rizin 26
December 31, 2020 |
Rizin | 1 | 2:48 |
| W | Shoji Maruyama | TKO (punches and soccer kick) | Rizin 24
September 27, 2020 |
Rizin | 1 | 2:37 |
| W | Hiromasa Ougikubo | KO (knee and soccer kicks) | Rizin 23
August 10, 2020 |
Rizin | 1 | 4:31 |
| L | Manel Kape | TKO (punches) | Rizin 20
December 31, 2019 |
Rizin | 2 | 0:38 |
| W | Ulka Sasaki | TKO (broken jaw) | Rizin 19
October 12, 2019 |
Rizin | 1 | 0:54 |
| W | Kyoji Horiguchi | KO (punches) | Rizin 18
August 18, 2019 |
Rizin | 1 | 1:08 |
| W | Moon Jae-hoon | Decision (unanimous) | Rizin: Heisei's Last Yarennoka!
December 30, 2018 |
Rizin | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Topnoi Kiwram | Decision (unanimous) | Rizin 13
September 30, 2018 |
Rizin | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Manel Kape | Decision (split) | Rizin 10
May 6, 2018 |
Rizin | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Kizaemon Saiga | TKO (punches and knee) | Rizin World Grand Prix 2017: 2nd Round
December 29, 2017 |
Rizin World Grand Prix | 2 | 2:34 |
| L | Moon Jae-hoon | KO (punches) | Road FC 39
June 10, 2017 |
Road FC | 3 | 2:38 |
| W | Alateng Heili | KO (knee and punches) | Road FC 37
March 11, 2017 |
Road FC | 1 | 0:29 |
| W | Yoichi Oi | TKO (punches) | Rings: The Outsider 42
September 4, 2016 |
Rings | 1 | 4:52 |
| W | Liu Xiaoyang | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Road FC 32
July 2, 2016 |
Road FC | 1 | 1:49 |
| W | Kwak Jong-hyun | TKO (punches) | Rings: The Outsider 38
December 13, 2015 |
Rings | 1 | 4:04 |
| W | Choi Jung-bin | Submission (brabo choke) | Rings: The Outsider 37
September 6, 2015 |
Rings | 1 | 2:21 |
| W | Keigo Takayama | TKO (punches) | Rings: The Outsider 36
July 19, 2015 |
Rings | 1 | 0:40 |
| W | Satoru Date | TKO (punches) | Rings: The Outsider 35
May 17, 2015 |
Rings | 2 | 3:36 |
| W | Tomoya Suzuki | Technical Submission (armbar) | DEEP: Cage Impact 2012 in Hamamatsu
September 16, 2012 |
DEEP | 1 | 2:34 |
Career history from the fighter's Wikipedia record table (Kai Asakura) — results only, no strike stats; UFC bouts are marked and carry full stats in the fight history above.
Division context
Hero photo of Kai Asakura by ホタテマン0010 · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons