Kai Asakura is headed to the UFC. Japanese star Asakura (21-4) recaptured the Rizin bantamweight title this past December against Juan Archuleta, who missed weight for the fight and was ineligible to retain the title. Saturday at Rizin 47, promotion head Nobuyuki Sakakibara announced Asakura has relinquished his title so he could sign with the UFC. The UFC has not yet made a formal announcement of the 30-year-old’s signing, but he is expected to quickly be a threat to the upper echelon of the UFC’s 135-pound weight class, which currently is ruled by Sean O’Malley
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UFC signs Rizin bantamweight champion Kai Asakura – MMA Junkie