Kai Asakura finally lived up to his billing earlier this morning (Sat., May 30, 2026) at UFC Macau LIVE on Paramount+ from inside Galaxy Arena in Macau, China, when the former RIZIN bantamweight champion toppled Cameron Smotherman with a violent knockout finish just under two minutes into the first round.<\/p>\n
Without knowing where Asakura comes from his first two Octagon outings would suggest he\u2019s just another unproven prospect from overseas who has yet to find his bearing. While Asakura did show holes in his game in his UFC matchups with Alexandre Pantoja and Tim Elliott, the former RIZIN star remains one of the most dangerous fighters in the lower divisions. On Saturday, Asakura got to prove it not too far from his native Japan.<\/p>\n
It took Asakura just under two minutes to badly hurt Smotherman with a vicious right hand. Smotherman was back tracking along the cage as Asakura clipped him with a crisp left. A few moments later and Asakura uncorked a vicious left hook that connected flush and left Smotherman slumped against the fence. It was a brutal finish to the say the least, but something UFC fans should get used to seeing now that Asakura has found his footing.<\/p>\n
Check out the final moments of the fight below:<\/p>\n