A 14-fight card at UFC 310 in Las Vegas was capped by a unique flyweight title fight between UFC champion Alexandre Pantoja and former two-time Rizin champion Kai Asakura. In the co-main event, Shavkat Rakhmonov secured his title shot against Belal Muhammad with his victory over Ian Machado Garry. Can anyone keep up with Pantoja? Will Rakhmonov be the favorite over Mohammed? To make sense of it all, Jeff Wagenheim, Brett Okamoto and Andreas Hale offer their latest takeaways from an action-packed night of fights in Las Vegas.

---

Pantoja lacks like-minded people, but flyweight GOAT?

Take a look at the list of reigning UFC champions and pick the three who had the best run with the belt. Islam Makhachev probably comes to mind, as he has reigned at lightweight since 2022. The next champion is likely to be Alex Pereira, who has made three defenses in the light heavyweight division in barely a year.

Thereafter? It has to be Alexandre Pantoja. The defending men’s flyweight champion’s second-round submission of Kai Asakura in the main event of UFC 310 allowed Pantoja to join Makhachev and Pereira as the only current champions with at least three defenses.

Pantoja, No. 5 in the ESPN pound-for-pound rankings, had to deal with Asakura’s ferocious aggression early on. However, after figuring out his challenger – which took maybe half a lap – he took full control and ran the rest of the way. By the end of the first round, Pantoja had scored more than twice as many significant hits as Asakura (31-15). And as Round 2 began and the champion initiated a clinch early, he used it deftly to leap onto Asakura’s back, take him down, secure a body triangle and quickly secure a rear-naked choke that clinched the race Round completed at 2:05 am.

But Pantoja’s work wasn’t done yet. He still had to do what is expected of champions: challenge his next challenger. The problem is that Pantoja has beaten ESPN’s No. 2 flyweight, Brandon Royval, twice. He has defeated No. 3 Brandon Moreno three times. Pantoja did not face Kai Kara-France, but the fourth-ranked 125-pounder has lost two of his last three fights. And No. 5 Muhammad Mokaev is nowhere to be found – the UFC let the undefeated Russian’s contract expire in the summer.

So Pantoja called out another man who is no longer in the UFC – the one with whom he had just tied for the most UFC flyweight victories with 13. “This is for you, Demetrious Johnson,” he said in his post-fight interview. “I’m the GOAT in here, and if you want to prove that you’re the GOAT, come back.”

Johnson, who retired this year as the One Championship defending champion, has nothing to prove to Pantoja or anyone else. “Mighty Mouse” ruled the UFC’s flyweight division from 2012 to 2018 – a reign of 2,142 days, the second longest in UFC history. Johnson made a record eleven consecutive title defenses. Pantoja is nowhere near the 125 pound goat.

But Pantoja dominates today’s flyweight division so much that the UFC had to reach across the Pacific Ocean to find a challenger who hadn’t even fought at 125 in over seven years. What now? Can anyone still in the UFC – or MMA as a whole – keep up with this guy? – Wagenheim

---

It’s a new era in the welterweight division

It’s coming – and after UFC 310, there’s no denying it. A new generation has taken over the business area. For a long time, the welterweight division was ruled by the same small group of names. Kamaru Usman. Colby Covington. Leon Edwards. Jorge Masvidal. Stephen Thompson. This group had their moment and it was a memorable era. But unless one of them can turn back the clock in a big way, it’s over. And even if Usman pulls off a significant upset in the near future or Covington finds a way to stop Joaquin Buckley’s momentum on December 14th, it’s still largely over. The torch has been passed.

Shavkat Rakhmonov is the real deal in every sense of the word, and Ian Machado Garry proved he is too by winning two of five rounds against him on Saturday. I suspect these two will fight again in the future. And both will eventually fight Jack Della Maddalena because he is also part of this new era. Saturday was a preview of the next five years in the welterweight division. Rakhmonov is only 30. Machado Garry is 27. Della Maddalena is 28. The aforementioned Buckley is 30. Carlos Prates, another name quickly making his mark in the division, is 31. You almost feel a little for defending champion Belal Muhammad . because he will be tasked with taking on these young fighters rather than capitalizing on big name fights with the previous era.

By the way, this is nothing against any of the veterans. They are all still capable of winning a big fight. But they also had their time, had their rivalries and all fought against each other several times. It was a fantastic time for the welterweight division. Also add Tyron Woodley to the mix, who fought Usman, Covington and Thompson twice. We got all the fights we wanted in this class. Now the spotlight turns to what we see this month. –Okamoto

---

The growing class gap in the heavyweight division

Ciryl Gane won a close decision over Alexander Volkov, establishing the Frenchman as the UFC’s No. 2 heavyweight contender. However, due to the controversial nature of the result, it only confirmed the huge divide between Jon Jones, Tom Aspinall and the rest of the heavyweights.

And that could be a real problem at some point.

Gane has won two straight fights since being overwhelmed by Jon Jones in 2023. Still, it’s hard to believe Gane would pose a real threat to Jones or Aspinall should he be next in line for a title shot. As for Volkov, while many thought he did enough to win the fight, the result is the result, and it’s his second loss to Gane. Before losing to Gane at UFC 310, Volkov had won four straight fights, with his most recent loss coming in the first round to current interim champion Aspinall.

The department urgently needs new blood. Luckily, since Jones competes once a year, they have time to put together some new competitors. However, the current group of top 10 heavyweights does not currently have much positive momentum to create a credible opponent for the undisputed champion in 2025.

There will need to be some change in the heavyweight division sooner rather than later if there is any hope of closing the gap as the current group ages. Unless a new contender emerges, this is likely to be a division ruled by either Jones or Aspinall over the next 24 months. — Hale