A flyweight fight between Kai Asakura and Tim Elliott has been added to the UFC 319 card in Chicago on August 16th.
A former Rizin champion, the 31-year-old Asakura was awarded an immediate 125lb title shot against Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 310 in December of last year, but suffered a second round submission loss.
Prior to that Asakura had spent his entire career in Japan, fighting mostly for the Rizin promotion, where he earned notable victories over the likes of Manel Kape and Kyogi Horiguchi before eventually winning their bantamweight title in 2023.
Now Asakura will attempt to get his first win in the UFC against the 38-year-old Elliott, who is coming off a 1st round submission win of Su Madaerji at the tail-end of last year.
Elliott’s had his ups and downs in the UFC over the years, but he’s won five of his last seven bouts and is currently ranked No.11, four spots above the 15th placed Asakura.
Asakura vs. Elliott joins a UFC 319 card that will be headlined by a middleweight title clash between current champion Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev, with no other bouts currently having been made official for the event at the United Center.
