Kai Asakura made a statement in his return to bantamweight, knocking out Cameron Smotherman in the first round at UFC Macau for his first UFC victory.
Asakura needed just 1:50 of Round 1 to close the show, landing a right hand followed by a left hook to secure the stoppage. The win came in his move back to the 135-pound division.
The former RIZIN 135-pound champion signed with the UFC in 2024 and was immediately matched with Alexandre Pantoja, beginning his Octagon run at flyweight. He went 0-2 there, dropping both bouts by submission to Pantoja and Tim Elliott before returning to his old weight class.
During a six-year run with RIZIN, Asakura picked up victories over Kyoji Horiguchi, Manel Kape, and Juan Archuleta.
With the loss, Smotherman’s record falls to 12-7 overall and 1-3 in the UFC, marking his third straight defeat.
