Alexandre Pantoja, Shavkat Rakhmonov shine at UFC 310

UFC 310 insight and analysis, plus a look at Cody Rhodes, DIY, and Kazuchika Okada

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UFC 310

Alexandre Pantoja is the best flyweight in the world.

And there isn’t even a close second.

Pantoja defeated Kai Asakura at UFC 310, successfully defending the flyweight title at UFC’s final pay-per-view of the year. He was too powerful for the lightning quick Asakura, the Rizin star from Japan making his UFC debut in a title bout.

Pantoja was decisively better than Asakura, taking his back in the second round and forcing him to tap to a rear naked choke.

There is no one left in the division for Pantoja. So he called out the newly retired Demetrious Johnson, the greatest flyweight of all-time.

Johnson immediately threw cold water on the idea, but a lot has changed since he fought his last bout for the UFC in 2018. If there were ever a chance for a reunion, now is the time.

Here are the results from UFC 310:

• Choi Doo-ho defeated Nate Landwehr by TKO in a featherweight bout

• Bryce Mitchell defeated Kron Gracie by knockout in a featherweight bout

• Ciryl Gane defeated Alexander Volkov by split decision in a heavyweight bout

• Shavkat Rakhmonov defeated Ian Machado Garry by unanimous decision in a welterweight title eliminator bout

• Alexandre Pantoja defeated Kai Asakura in the main event to retain the flyweight title

In the co-main, Shavkat Rakhmonov defeated Ian Machado Garry. The victory extended Rakhmonov’s undefeated streak to 19 while ending Garry’s at 15.

It marked the first time Rakhmonov went the distance in a five-round bout. With the win, he cements his place as next in line for reigning champ Belal Muhammad, who he was originally scheduled to fight here until an injury forced Muhammad to withdraw.

Rakhmonov did just enough to beat Garry, but he struggled on the ground in the fifth–and barely escaped a choke. Despite the undefeated record, Rakhmonov has holes in his game, and he has a lot of work ahead of him to prevent the pressure-paced Muhammad from exposing them.

Ciryl Gane also defeated Alexander Volkov. It was somewhat controversial because Gane was on the bottom for almost the entirety of the third round (to be fair, Volkov did very little from the top position), but Gane did enough to win the first two rounds. The victory should propel Gane to a bout against interim champ Tom Aspinall.

Bryce Mitchell ended a dull fight against Kron Gracie with an exciting knockout, but that bout belonged on the prelims and not the main card. Choi Doo-ho opened the pay-per-view looking exceptional in his TKO victory over Nate Landwehr.

The prelims were also compelling.

Undefeated featherweight Movsar Evloev defeated Aljamain Sterling by unanimous decision, which doesn’t reflect the competitiveness of this bout. There were stretches in the first and third round when Sterling controlled the fight, yet not a single word uttered on the broadcast about the decision in defense of Sterling.

The undercard was loaded with solid fights. Eryk Anders was too much for Chris Weidman, and Michael Chiesa looked outstanding in his second straight victory, forcing Max Griffin to tap for the first time in his career.

But the one image that stood out from the prelims was Anthony Smith taking a beating, almost by design, from Dominick Reyes. It ended as a TKO victory for Reyes, stopped in the closing seconds of the second round. Smith seemed to prefer taking punishment, even dropping his hands at one point in the opening round to take a few extra strikes to the head.

The fight took place less than a month after Smith lost his best friend/coach Scotty Morton, who passed away after suffering an unexpected heart attack at the age of 47. Making the fight more jarring is that Smith’s family was present at T-Mobile Arena in Vegas, watching the carnage unfold in the cage.

After the fight, an emotional Smith spoke with Joe Rogan in the Octagon and stated that this was likely the last time he would compete in the Octagon. Clearly, it is a very difficult time for Smith, so it is hard to say if this is really the end of his career.

Overall, it was a very entertaining night of fights. There was also the added surprise of Pantoja calling out Mighty Mouse, which would be a phenomenal bout for 2025.

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Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens ready for a showdown

Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens are less than a week away from their championship showdown on Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Rhodes defeated Chad Gable two nights ago on SmackDown, closing out the show with an entertaining bout (it was also an important bout for Gable, who has lost all his momentum after feuding with the new Wyatt Family). After the finish, Owens arrived and attacked Rhodes, showing no mercy on his injured left ankle.

More than seven years have passed since Owens wore a world title in WWE. That ended when dropped the Universal title to Golberg (who needed the belt to drop it back weeks later to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 33). Could a similar fate be in store for Owens? Is he going to defeat Rhodes and then drop the belt ahead of WrestleMania 41?

Rhodes and Owens have done a tremendous job building to their bout, which airs in primetime on NBC. I’m a firm believer it is going to end in controversial fashion, more specifically a controversy where Owens is crowned WWE champion.

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Will Jesse Ventura mention Vince McMahon?

Jesse “The Body” Ventura is returning to the broadcast table at Saturday Night’s Main Event, which is always a treat for longtime fans.