UFC 310, held at the T Mobile Arena in Las Vegas this past Saturday, was the final Pay Per View of 2024, and with it came two particularly big matchups that charted the course for the future of the Flyweight and Welterweight divisions.

In the main event of the evening, Flyweight Champion Alexandre Pantoja successfully defended his title against the debuting Kai Asakura via a dominant performance, showing the massive disparity in their grappling abilities, as he snagged a rear naked choke in round 2 to retain the belt. This marked his third consecutive title defense, and it puts him in contention with a few other flyweights like Henry Cejudo, Deiveson Figueiredo, and Brandon Moreno for the title of “second best flyweight of all time” … Nobody is touching Demetrious Johnson’s record anytime soon.

Pantoja has very much controlled this division for the better half of the last two years, and although there are challengers in the flyweight division for him to face, it seems like its his division to lose. His clear grappling advantage over the rest of the division is going to set him apart for the near future, and it will take a flyweight with a very well rounded set of skills to knock him off his throne.

“This is my town (the Octagon). This is my city.”

[ #UFC310 | @PantojaMMA ] pic.twitter.com/uK06nWh2sz

— UFC (@ufc) December 8, 2024

In the co-main event, the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov faced off against another undefeated contender in Ian Garry, with a title shot against Welterweight Champion Belal Muhammad on the line. Coming into the contest, Rakhmonov had not only beaten, but finished all of his former 18 opponents, making him a significant favorite against Garry. Garry did force the Kazakh grappling superstar to fight five rounds for the first time in career, and though he started to turn the tide late in the fight, and almost grabbed a rear naked choke finish at one point in the final round, it just wasn’t enough, and Rakhmonov would go on to earn a unanimous decision. The fight ultimately raises Garry’s stock in the division, as most of the consensus going into the fight was that Rakhmonov would find a finish at some point. Rakhmonov’s win sets him up for a showdown with the aforementioned Muhammad, who is recovering from a toe infection.

Fun fact: This is the first UFC fight in history to feature a change of shorts mid fight, as Garry seemed to rip his shorts along the fence in round 3.

Also on the card: 

• Ciryl Gane won a controversial split decision against Alexander Volkov in a Heavyweight bout with future title implications. The UFC’s judging continues to be a mess towards the end of 2024.
• Bryce Mitchell earned a rare “slam” finish, when he dropped Kron Gracie on his head for a KO in round 3 of their Featherweight bout.
• Dooho Choi continues his career resurgence with a KO over Nate Landwehr.
• Dominick Reyes also continues to resurrect his career, grabbing a second win in a row and earning a TKO victory over Anthony Smith.
• Vincente Luque earned a performance of the night bonus for his submission victory over Themba Gorimbo.
• Mosvar Evloev earned a unanimous, yet controversial win over former Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling.
• Bryan Battle also added to the judging controversy, as he edged Randy Brown in a split decision that many thought went the other way.
• Eryk Anders scored a TKO finish in early round 2 over veteran Chris Weidman.
• Joshua Van scored a much needed get right win against Cody Durden via unanimous decision.
• Michael Chiesa earned a rear naked choke finish in round 3 against Max Griffin on his birthday of all days.
•  Chase Hooper defeated veteran Clay Guida with a nasty armbar, earning himself a performance of the night bonus.
• Kennedy Nzechukwu also took home a bonus for his KO over Lukasz Brzeski.

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12/9/2024