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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 16: Kai Asakura of Japan looks on prior to his flyweight bout during UFC 319 at the United Center on August 16, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Kai Asakura is making a change.
The former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight title challenger is moving back up to Bantamweight after a winless run at 125 pounds and will face fellow knockout artist Cameron Smotherman at UFC Macau next month (Sat., May 30, 2026) inside Galaxy Arena in Macau, China. The promotion announced the matchup earlier today.
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Asakura (21-6) entered the UFC with massive hype thanks to his run in RIZIN, where he captured gold and scored several highlight-reel knockouts — including a win over Kyoji Horiguchi in 2019.
But his transition to the Octagon hasn’t gone as planned.
After dropping both of his Flyweight bouts — including a title shot in his promotional debut — Asakura now returns to Bantamweight, the division where he built most of his career. His grappling has proven to be a major hurdle, as he was submitted in back-to-back losses to Alexandre Pantoja (watch highlights) and Tim Elliott (watch highlights).
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This time around, Asakura may not have to worry as much about the ground game.
Smotherman (12-6) is known for his heavy hands and aggressive striking style, boasting a 58 percent finish rate with six knockout victories. The American made a strong first impression in the UFC, defeating Jake Hadley on extremely short notice — even traveling across the world to take the fight.
However, he’s since dropped back-to-back bouts against Ricky Simon and Serhiy Sidey.
Smotherman was also scheduled to compete earlier this year at UFC 324, but his bout was scrapped after he fainted during early-morning weigh-ins and faceplanted on stage — a scary moment that ultimately forced him off the card.
Now, both fighters are looking to bounce back — and in a matchup like this, it’s safe to expect fireworks.
Here is what UFC Macau looks like so far:
Song Yadong vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
Alonzo Menifield vs. Zhang Mingyang
Sergei Pavlovich vs. Tallison Teixeira
Su Mudaerji vs. Alex Perez
Kai Asakura vs. Cameron Smotherman
Cody Haddon vs. Aori Qileng
Jaqueline Amorim vs. Loma Lookboonmee
Luis Felipe Dias vs. Yi Sak Lee
Jesus Aguilar vs. Rei Tsuruya
To checkout UFC’s upcoming schedule of events click here.
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