UFC 310: Five Things We Learned

UFC 310: Five Things We Learned

UFC 310 was the final pay-per-view event of 2024. The promotion closed its pay-per-view schedule with a solid event that featured some great fights. Now, it’s time to dive into the event’s aftermath and discuss the biggest lessons we learned at the event.

Alexandre Pantoja Reminds Fans Of His Dominance

In the UFC 310 main event, Alexandre Pantoja reminded fans of MMA fans of how entertaining and skilled he is. The champion did so with a second-round submission win over Kai Asakura.

This bout is what should be expected from a Pantoja title fight. Pantoja and Asakura traded massive shots on the feet. Pantoja was landing big punches with his aggressive approach. At the same time, Asakura landed a massive flying knee and several counters. That all changed when Pantoja got a back take in the second round. Once that happened, it was only a matter of time before Pantoja landed the rear-naked choke.

This fight should serve as a reminder that Pantoja is an elite fighter who is highly skilled with great physicality. In his most recent title fights, Pantoja spent much more time controlling grappling positions without landing the submission. After two fights that were not insane, fans forgot that Pantoja is consistently one of the most entertaining fighters in the sport. Hopefully, this high-pace scrap puts that narrative to rest.

Kai Asakura Was A Sensational Signing

Asakura was unable to win the UFC flyweight title at UFC 310, but that should not mean his signing was a bad move. This signing should be viewed as a massive success by the UFC.

The UFC 310 bout was a great fight. That is partially a result of Asakura’s style and impressive striking skills. A lot of the respect that is being given to Pantoja is only possible because Asakura forced this to be a high-pace scrap.

Despite not being the champion, the future looks bright for Asakura. At 31 years old, he has plenty of time to make an impact in the UFC. The most likely outcome is that Asakura will begin to get in fan-friendly scraps against fellow entertaining flyweights. The UFC has a clean slate to match Asakura up against opponents like Brandon Royval, Brandon Moreno, Kai-Kara France, Steve Erceg, and many others.

Shavkat Rakhmonov Gets His First Decision Win

In the UFC 310 co-main event, Shavkat Rakhmonov picked up a decision win over Ian Machado Garry. The outcome broke Rakhmonov’s 100-percent finish rate. Despite his impressive stat being gone, he still won the fight and earned a title fight.

This fight was much more timid than any other Rakhmonov fight. It is hard to say exactly why that is the case. Rakhmonov had much lower output than he had in any other bout. That could have been for multiple reasons. It could have been a result of Rakhmonov and Machado Garry training together, Machado Garry’s leg kicks could have given Rakhmonov issues, or Rakhmonov could have been attempting to pace himself. It is hard to pinpoint any of these factors as the singular cause.

The pace of the fight greatly favored Machado Garry. That is simply because Machado Garry typically fights at a slower pace than Rakhmonov. Still, Rakhmonov had more clinch control in the early rounds while also landing the more damaging strikes. In rounds four and five, the pace picked up a decent amount. In those rounds, each fighter won a round. In round four, Rakhmonov got takedowns and landed impressive strikes from the top position. In the following round, Machado Garry got a back take and threatened a rear-naked choke.

This was probably not the type of win that Rakhmonov was hoping for; however, it comes with some positives. It is positive that Rakhmonov got experience in a five-round fight before fighting in championship fights. That is an invaluable experience that cannot be ignored.

Movsar Evloev Adds To His Resume

At UFC 310, Movsar Evloev earned a decision win over Aljamain Sterling. The victory is another solid win for the rising flyweight contender.

The biggest factor in this bout was Evloev’s physicality and cardio. These factors are what allowed him to get to dominant positions in the second and third rounds. Ultimately, that is what won the fight because Evloev was able to do more damage in those moments.

This victory added another impressive win to Evloev’s resume. At this point, he is 19-0 professionally with a 9-0 UFC record. That includes wins over Sterling, Aljamain Sterling, Deigo Lopes, and Dan Ige. It is an impressive run for a fighter that is looking to earn a title fight.

Joshua Van Continues To Impress

On the UFC 310 prelims, Joshua Van had a sensational performance against Cody Durden. The 23-year-old prospect dominated striking exchanges en route to a decision win.

In this fight, Van showed some great skills. The most potent was his striking and cardio. Van pushed the pace in striking exchanges and landed boxing combinations at will. This included various types of punches while digging to the body. Despite his insane output, Van did not gas out. Furtermore, he showed solid defensive grappling which is obviously crucial. It was a great showing.

This victory will likely result in Van earning a ranking. It should also provide optimism for a promising future.

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