We are in store for an amazing weekend of fights. UFC 310 is coming to us live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. The card is headlined by the Flyweight Championship fight between current champion Alexandre Pantoja and former Rizin Champion Kai Asakura as he makes his UFC debut.
The entire card is stacked with talent from former Champ Chris Weidman on the Early Prelims to an undefeated showdown between Shavkat Rakhmonov and Ian Machado Garry. Today we’ll break down some of the top fights and give you 4 of the best bets for this Saturday’s fight card.
This matchup is extremely intriguing to me. Sterling, the former bantamweight champion, is now taking on one of the top contenders in the featherweight division. It is very interesting for this to be on the undercard considering the two fighters' high rankings, but that is a Dana White decision.
This fight, on paper, is going to be a grappling fest. Evloev holds the 2nd most takedowns in UFC featherweight history and anyone who has watched Aljo knows he is mostly a grappler. Sterling has won 10 of his last 11 fights with his only loss being a KO defeat against Sean O’Malley in a title defense.
With Sterling being a former champion and Evloev currently ranked 5th, this fight squares up to be a potential for the next title challenger. However, their “boring” grappling syles will hurt their promotional chances, so they will need to deliver an exciting fight.
It is hard to bet against Aljo. He is one of the greatest bantamweights of all time and has the frame to fight at featherweight.
He showed he can still dominate at this weight by taking out Calvin Katar in April. While Evloev is 8-0 in the UFC, I don’t think his wrestling can outclass the former champion.
Moving to the main card, I think this matchup could be one of the most exciting of the night. Both of these guys are MASSIVE heavyweights and this will be a rematch of their fight from 2021. Both men have clearly grown as fighters since then. Gane has since fought, and lost, for the title twice while Volkov has slowly climbed the ranks.
This matchup will be, most likey, a kickboxing match. Both of these fighters have outstanding standup skills. They are long, athletic, and can finish with the best of them. Gane won their first matchup by decision where he showed his athleticism and speed.
Volkov’s main chance in this fight is catching Gane off guard. However, Gane’s vast experience as a kickboxer limits those opportunities. Both of Gane’s losses have been due to his lack of wrestling acumen, but I don’t expect Volkov to press that issue.
This seems like a boring bet, but I think it will pay off. Gane won their first meeting by decision and dominated the fight.
He kept Volkov at range and used his speed and athleticism to dance around him and stay out of danger. I think he will be able to use that strategy once again and pick Volkov apart.
This is possibly my favorite fight of the night. These two undefeated contenders will meet in the octagon and one of them will have to walk out facing their first professional loss. The biggest disparity in these two is their grappling acumen.
Machado Garry is amazing on his feet and, as he has shown, willing to dance around the octagon and pick his opponents apart. On the other hand, Shavkat is ultra-aggressive and has finished every single one of his professional fights.
I believe this fight comes down to Garry’s ability to avoid being taken down. He is long and fast, but will need to keep the exchanges short. Shavkat needs to press the issue to get this fight done. He is also great at standup, but his advantage lies in his ability to control the pace. If he can get Garry on his back and slow him down, he will have a great chance to win this.
This is the best bet for this fight in my eyes. Rakhmonov has submitted his opponents in 5 of his last 6 fights, including finishing Wonderboy Thompson by RNC in his last fight.
Shavkat has shown he doesn’t have many holes in his game and I think he will be able to get this done against Garry who hasn’t faced this strong of a grappler in his career.
In the main event of the evening we have the current flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja taking on former Rizin champion Kai Asakura in his UFC debut. It isn’t often guys coming into the UFC get so much respect off the bat, but Asakura’s resume speaks for itself.
Coming off of a KO victory of Juan Archuleta in Rizin, Asakura seems to be at the top of his game. On the other hand, we have Pantoja, who has been dominant since 2020. Pantoja will look to make a statement in his 3rd UFC title defense.
This fight is almost guaranteed to be fireworks. These guys are fast, and athletic and can both pack some power in their punches. Pantoja is extremely well-rounded and really doesn’t have many holes in his game. Asakura is more of a standup fighter, who can KO you in one shot, which is rare in the flyweight division. This fight is going to be fun to find out just how legit this newcomer is.
I think this fight is going to be an all-out war. Both of these guys are very well-rounded and can pack serious power for their size. However, I like Pantoja because of his experience.
Asakura is stepping into an extremely tough spot in his UFC debut. He has fought tough competition, but nothing like Pantoja’s run through the UFC. I think experience in a 5-round UFC fight will be the deciding factor.