Who is Kai Asakura? From street fighter to superstar, Japan's rookie dances with history at UFC 310
Yokohama Arena, 1997. The UFC's first-ever event in Japan. Five thousand fans are in attendance on a cold December night as Kazushi Sakuraba makes history, being crowned as the first and only Japanese fighter to hold UFC gold of any kind. He wins an openweight tournament, not a championship, but it's the start of a legacy, not just for Sakuraba, but Japan's rich mixed martial arts history and rise to prominence in a fledgling sport.
Sakuraba was never supposed to fight in the UFC. Japanese pro wrestling star Hiromitsu Kanehara signed to compete in the promotion's inaugural Ultimate Japan heavyweight tournament, but an eleventh-hour Kanehara injury delivered the opportunity to Sakuraba, all 183 pounds of him, so instead he fought the same man twice after an all-time referee blunder, getting through the now-famous American Top Team coach Marcus "Conan" Silveira, who weighed 243 pounds for the bouts. And that was it. That was Sakuraba's only run in the promotion.
Two fights, a tournament title and one hell of a story. Japan's first taste of UFC success.
In the 27 years since, six of Sakuraba's countrymen have tried top his feat by challenging for an official UFC title. All have fallen when the belt was at their fingertips. On Saturday in Las Vegas at UFC 310, challenger No. 7 will step up to the plate against one of UFC's reigning kings, flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja.
Toyohashi's Kai Asakura aims to announce himself to the world and propel his unique stardom to a whole new level, and carry along with it a renewed rise of Japanese MMA to the forefront of the sport.
"Watch Kai," says Asakura's coach, Billy Bigelow. "When you watch him fight, you're going to see a moment in his demeanor where it changes drastically. You're going to see this smile on his face — and him looking to kill someone. He has this vicious, relentless competitor in him.
"You hear (famed basketball coach) Tim Grover talk about Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, these different athletes where they get this kind of obsession. Kai has that obsession. He wants to be great. He wants to be a champion. He wants to build a massive legacy for himself and for MMA in Japan."
At 31 years old, Asakura is already a bonafide superstar as he prepares to enter the UFC for the first time. He and his elder brother, Mikuru Asakura, can be equated to their country's version of America's Paul brothers — the big difference being they're high-level competitors to be taken seriously.
It's an influencer world in 2024. The Asakuras have capitalized on the times and become supermassive sensations in their native Japan as a result. While Mikuru boasts stronger online numbers supported by his eye-catching, wildly popular fight promotion Breaking Down, Kai isn't far off.
The Asakura brothers have built a dedicated army of fans while performing over the years in main events for Japan's biggest MMA organization, RIZIN Fighting Federation. Kai's stats speak for themselves.
YouTube subscribers: 1.37 million
Most views on a single YouTube video: 23 million
YouTube videos eclipsing 1 million views: 170
YouTube videos eclipsing 3 million views: 26
YouTube videos eclipsing 5 million views: 13
Total YouTube video views: 627 million
"I think the biggest reason is his fight style," RIZIN founder Nobuyuki Sakakibara says of Asakura's popularity. "Win or lose he always delivers an exciting fight. Regardless of the opponent, he constantly goes after the finish in an aggressive way. And all of his fights are dramatic and beautiful. I have great confidence that the UFC fans will be fascinated by Kai’s fight too.
"Kai’s popularity is not only amongst fight fans but his name is known by the general public. He has the looks and positive attitude to intrigue people. He utilizes social media and YouTube wisely for his brand. Kai’s popularity is definitely one of the key aspects that helped [during] the dawn of RIZIN."
From the streets to the stars
Knockout power and violence have always been in the Asakuras' blood.
Before the brothers put on the gloves, they infamously made their names in the streets of Japan. Whether competing in family fisticuffs or against others, neither discriminated.
Kai turned his talents to the professional ranks in 2012 at the age of 18 with Japan's longstanding DEEP promotion. By 2017, he entered the RIZIN ring for the first time, quickly making his mark.
What happened next stunned the collective MMA world and birthed the star we see today.
Among UFC's six previous Japanese title challengers is Kyoji Horiguchi. A lethal dynamo and former Bellator champion, Horiguchi is the most recent of Asakura's countrymen to try his hand — and fail — at making UFC history. After coming up short against the all-time great Demetrious Johnson in the literal final second of his title bid at UFC 185 in April 2015, Horiguchi went on to become the guy in Japan.
He rattled off three more UFC wins after his loss to Johnson then departed the organization and latched onto RIZIN. Immediately, he looked unstoppable. With win after win, Horiguchi surprised and impressed, collecting titles across the MMA landscape and cementing himself as one of the world's best.
It became rinse and repeat in RIZIN for Horiguchi as time went on. Just throw the king a warm body, the trope became as his dominance built. But then came August 2019 — and that body? Asakura. The matchmaking was so random that RIZIN officials didn't even book the bout as a championship match.
But Asakura did the unthinkable. In just 67 seconds, he became the first man to knock out Horiguchi.
Kai Asakura(12-1) vs Kyoji Horiguchi(28-2)
RIZIN 18: Horiguchi vs Asakura
August 18th 2019
Fighter: @kai_1031_ pic.twitter.com/ZVSA8nSeX1— Underrated Combat Sports Tribal Chief (@MMAUnderrated) November 29, 2024
Overnight, Asakura was viewed as the champion without a crown thanks to the fight's non-title nature.
While the Asakura story hasn't unfolded without adversity, his shining moments began carrying an air of inevitability. He fought twice more that year, crushing UFC veteran Ulka Sasaki's jaw before losing his first official RIZIN title fight in a rematch against previous conquest Manel Kape, who now stands as a top UFC contender. Six months after the Kape loss, he brutally knocked out UFC veteran Hiromasa Ougikubo to capture that elusive championship status.
Gold looks good on Asakura. His title win was a turning point that rocketed his already strong popularity to even greater heights.
"Japanese fans for a long time have been telling me I should aim toward being the top in the world," Asakura says.
"I fought for seven years in RIZIN in Japan and I have a legitimately strong fanbase. It's something very different from the other fighters in Japan, or the other Japanese fighters who fought in the UFC. I bring a new kind of fan, or a different fan, to the UFC from Japan, and I think the amount of appeal or exposure that might have is pretty different from the existing Japanese roster."
Asakura is already a bonafide superstar. He and his elder brother can be equated to Japan's version of the Paul brothers — the big difference being they're high-level competitors to be taken seriously.
It's one thing to hear about how popular a fighter can be, especially internationally.
Seeing it firsthand, that's another story.
"Kai's a superstar," Bigelow says. "Whatever him and his brother touch turns to gold. He's loved by the fans, he's loved by the people of Japan, and it's really incredible. You almost can't believe it until you see it. That's how big he is. There's no other way to explain it.
"He's the best representative [for the country]. Everybody knows him, everybody loves him. So I think this really opens the door for Japanese MMA. If Kai wins the UFC belt, it really opens the door for Japanese MMA. Who knows where it's going to go?"
Asakura's has been a gradual progression, one that's seen the development of serious skills. The Horiguchi win was just that first taste that forced fans who look outside the UFC to pay attention.
But how would he do in the big leagues? Asakura pondered the thought himself for many years.
According to Bigelow, who also helps with some of the fighter's managerial decisions, it wasn't until this past March that business really picked up.
The moment of truth
Bigelow and Asakura's relationship began roughly two years ago, when Asakura's star was already brightly aglow.
The former head wrestling coach of Las Vegas' Syndicate MMA gym, Bigelow met Asakura in passing. He was blown away by what he saw.
"I really didn't know much about him," Bigelow says. "I knew he was fighting in RIZIN but I wasn't really following too closely. We were super busy at the time so I wasn't giving him a ton of attention. And then we were getting (UFC bantamweight champion) Merab (Dvalishvili) ready for the Petr Yan fight. I saw some rounds where Kai was sparring with Merab and I was like, 'Oh ... man. This kid's the real deal.'
"That's when I really started doing research on him, and that's kind of where it left off, to be honest with you. He came [to visit the gym], we had a good time, I coached him, did some privates, he left and he ended up fighting Yuki Motoya [in RIZIN], and then after that, he got booked for the New Year's Eve card against Juan Archuleta. And that's when he gave me a call and asked me to come out to Japan."
Asakura won, of course, reclaiming the RIZIN title with another win over a former Bellator champion.
UFC came calling soon after.
"The fact that my debut fight is a title match is something that's beyond my wildest dreams," Asakura says. "I'm very happy for this opportunity.
"I fought in RIZIN main events for so long in front of very, very big crowds, so I don't have any stage fright or fear of a big scene, big platform. That really helped me be psychologically ready for this main event on this big scale."
The trigger could've been pulled sooner on Asakura's arrival to the world's biggest MMA promotion. Instead, it culminated in a date with Brazil's Pantoja to close out 2024. With cross-promotional efforts effectively dead among UFC's strategic plans, Saturday's flyweight tilt is as close as fans will likely get.
History is on the line though, and the ripple effects UFC 310 could have for the Japanese MMA scene cannot be understated.
An immediate title shot alone shows a respect earned and rarely given to outsiders.
"The fact that a former RIZIN champion is getting an immediate title shot means a lot to the Japanese MMA scene, especially for the UFC getting its roots in the country," Sakakibara says. "Dana (White) would be surprised in the change with just one fighter added to the roster.
"This also sheds light to the younger fighters who aim on getting signed with the UFC. The fact that working hard and making a name and a following in RIZIN gets you opportunities with the UFC, is a great accomplishment and revolutionary to the Japanese market."
Even Pantoja, the reigning UFC champion, feels what this fight is at its core. All the stops have been pulled for Asakura. It's as if the Avengers of the world famous American Top Team have been assembled to stop Japan's Thanos. Several of Asakura's past rivals — Horiguchi, Kape and Motoya — all aided in training Pantoja ahead of the showdown.
Worlds are colliding once again, and legendary Japanese promotion PRIDE is surely smiling from its grave.
"I remember watching PRIDE a lot and the Japanese are crazy about the fighters," Pantoja says. "Fighters in Japan are like heroes. That's what I want. I want to be a hero in Japan.
"I'm not going to defend this [UFC] belt [on Saturday] — I'm going to win another belt."
Dana White's old "world f***ing domination" mantra has long been a meme across the MMA ecosphere when it comes to the UFC's global expansion over the years. Should Asakura win UFC gold and explode a historic market the organization has historically neglected, the joke may no longer be just that.
To think it could all happen because of one kid who couldn't stop himself from throwing knuckles and knees with his brother growing up? It doesn't get any more MMA than that.
"It was impossible to imagine being here now," says Asakura.
"In 10 years, there hasn't been a UFC event in Japan, so my goal is after I win the belt to get the UFC to have events in Japan — and I'll be the main event in Japan for the UFC."
