UFC 310 happened Saturday, December 7th, and a lot happened. I made a UFC 310 article going over my picks and choices (it’s probably not published yet, which is just awesome), and now that it has happened I’ll go over the results and compare my picks with what actually happened.
Starting from the Main Event to the first fight of the Main card I’ll compare my prediction with the actual results, and go over briefly what happened in the fights.
Alexandre Pantoja (C) vs. Kai Asakura
UFC Flyweight Title Bout
My Prediction: Late KO/TKO or Decision for Alexandre Pantoja
Result: Round 2 Submission win for Alexandre Pantoja
New Records:
Alexandre Pantoja (29-5-0)
Kai Asakura (21-5-0)
Alexandre Pantoja showed that the UFC has the best fighters in the world by completely dismantling Kai, where he nullified Kai’s striking by smothering him on the ground, and then sinking in a Rear Naked Choke in Round 2 that put Kai to sleep, and honestly I’m astonished. Going into this fight, everyone thought that Kai Asakura was going to put up the toughest challenge for Pantoja, including myself, but Pantoja proved to be the King of the 125 pound division, and putting the UFC #1 for sure. Who’s next for the Cannibal? In my book Kai Kara-France or Demetrious Johnson are the fights that make sense to make next. DJ is widely recognized as the greatest Flyweight ever, and who can argue? Could you imagine a fight between the two fighters? It would be fireworks. Kai Kara-France just recently knocked out Steve Erceg who fought Pantoja in a good, competitive fight, but after Kai disposed of Steve in round 1, it poses a lot of questions. As for Kai Asakura though, I think he needs to build his way up the rankings, as he was completely outclassed by Pantoja. Kai needs to prove himself before he gets back into the title conversation, and that we can all agree.
Shavkat Rahkmonov (#3) vs. Ian Machado Garry (#7)
#1 Welterweight Contender Bout
My Prediction: Second or Third Round Submission for Shavkat Rahkmonov
Result: Unanimous Decision win for Shavkat Rahkmonov
New Records:
Shavkat Rahkmonov (19-0-0)
Ian Machado Garry (15-1-0)
In a fight where Ian Garry was heavily counted out, not only did he show up to fight, but he made Shavkat look mortal. Despite losing his 0, he snapped Shavkat’s 18 fight finishing streak. Shavkat and Ian fought a mostly grappling match where Shavkat got the better of Garry, but in round 5 Ian almost stole the entire fight with a Rear Naked Choke, but he couldn’t quite get the choke underneath Shavkat’s chin and onto his neck, allowing Shavkat to slip out of it. The only fight that really makes sense for Shavkat is give him the champ Belal Muhammad, but that will be a very tough fight for both. Ian should get someone in the top 5, as he showed he is right now a top tier Welterweight.
Ciryl Gane (#2) vs. Alexander Volkov (#3)
#1 Heavyweight Contender Bout
My Prediction: Close Split Decision for Alexander Volkov
Result: Split Decision for Ciryl Gane
New Records:
Ciryl Gane (13-2-0)
Alexander Volkov (38-11-0)
Something that surprised me was Alexander Volkov going to the grappling early in this fight. Not only that, but the decision also surprised everyone who watched this fight, as everyone, including Dana White, believed that Alexander Volkov won the fight. He outgrappled Ciryl, outstruck Ciryl, and he beat Ciryl. Alexander Volkov looked incredible in this fight, showing his evolution since their first meeting. No doubt about it, Alexander Volkov deserved his hand to be raised and should get the opportunity to fight for the belt that is no doubt a career defining moment and opportunity. If I were the matchmaker, I would either schedule a rematch or give Volkov the title shot, but considering Gane won the split decision, Gane would likely face the winner of Aspinall vs. Jones. The logical fight, though, is Volkov vs. Gane 3 in my book.
Bryce Mitchell (#13) vs. Kron Gracie
Featherweight Bout
My Prediction: Round 1 or 2 Submission for Bryce Mitchell
Result: Round 3 KO/TKO win for Bryce Mitchell
New Records:
Bryce Mitchell (17-3-0)
Kron Gracie (5-3-0)
Kron got completely dominated and devastated. The only Kron proved tonight was that he didn’t deserve to be in the octagon with Bryce. Bryce smothered Kron, practically pounding Kron’s head through the canvas, and in the third and final round, Bryce managed to pick up his first KO/TKO win, and showed that he was still capable, even after a career altering knockout that he suffered through at UFC 296.
Nate Landwehr vs. Choi Doo-Ho
Featherweight Bout
My Prediction: Nate Landwehr via Late KO/TKO or Unanimous Decision
Result: Choi Doo-Ho via Round 3 KO/TKO
New Records:
Choi Doo-Ho (16-4-1)
Nate Landwehr (18-6-0)
This fight went not how I expected. The opposite happened, in fact. I believed that Nate would be able to overwhelm and beat Choi, but Choi completely dominated Nate, and finished the fight in round 3 via elbows in the Crucifix position. Nate is really not as good as I thought, in fact his performance was very, very, very poor. Choi looked great though, he showed up and beat Nate pretty easily, and I think that this performance should absolutely ensure he gets a ranked opponent next, and Nate should be keep fighting unranked opponents like he has been.
I guessed 3/5 fights correctly but with incorrect methods of victory. I almost got that Ciryl v. Volkov fight on the button, but the judges saw it the other way. If you wish to watch these fights you can do so on ESPN+, but right now you’ll still have to buy the PPV to watch it, but the fights will be available to watch without buying PPV in ~2/3 weeks.
Don’t forget that UFC Fight Night Tampa with the main event being Colby Covington vs Joaquin Buckley will be December 14th, and you can watch it for free with your ESPN+ subscription if you have one.
