UFC 310 takeaways: Pantoja finally shows dominance

LAS VEGAS - Alexandre Pantoja retained the UFC flyweight title for the third time Saturday, submitting former Rizin Fighting Federation champion Kai Asakura with a rear-naked choke in the second round of the UFC 310 main event at T-Mobile Arena.

In the co-main event, Shavkat Rakhmonov handed Ian Machado Garry the first loss of his career, beating the Irishman by unanimous decision to set up a welterweight title fight against Belal Muhammad.

Here are four takeaways from the final pay-per-view card of 2024.

Flyweight division runs through Pantoja until further notice

It's time to put some respect on Pantoja's name.

Pantoja has been putting in work quickly but quietly, and now he's tied with Alex Pereira and Islam Makhachev for the most title defenses among the current UFC champions (three). Pantoja is not one of the loudest or most popular fighters out there, but he continues to show why he's one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. And on Saturday, he cemented himself as the UFC's top flyweight.

For the first time, Pantoja looked like a dominant champion. Before his fight with Asakura, he struggled to gain the MMA world's respect. Pantoja squeaked by Brandon Moreno to win the title and then beat Brandon Royval and Steve Erceg on the scorecards in his first two defenses. The Erceg fight was particularly close and not at all convincing that Pantoja's title reign was ironclad.

But at UFC 310, the champ had no moments of adversity. No moments where it looked like he was slowing down or his opponent was in control. No moments where it looked like he could lose. Instead, it was clinical. One-sided. A damn fine performance - and an epic submission to boot.

It might be a tad premature to say Pantoja is peerless with Kai Kara-France waiting in the wings, but he's well on his way to putting a gap between him and every other flyweight on the roster. The 125-pound division goes through South Florida - by way of Brazil - and it doesn't look like that'll change anytime soon.

Rakhmonov is human, but it doesn't matter

Rakhmonov remained the No. 1 contender for the UFC welterweight title, dismantling Garry over five rounds in a highly anticipated battle of undefeated fighters. But it didn't look like his previous 18 performances in the MMA cage. That's because Rakhmonov - long considered the future of the division - went the distance for the first time in his career.

On Saturday, Rakhmonov finally met his match - at least enough not to be able to score a finish. Some will argue he looked human against Geoff Neal, but he still ended that fight with a nasty choke. He really did look human against Garry, who neutralized much of Rakhmonov's offense, won two rounds on the judges' scorecards, and came the closest to a finish. Garry stymied the boogeyman that fans had gotten used to seeing - and, as the Irishman said postfight, that's a testament to how talented he is.

But the part that matters is Rakhmonov still won.

Sure, he might have gone from destroying everyone to edging out a decision (a la Khamzat Chimaev vs. Gilbert Burns), but Rakhmonov is still 19-0 and still undefeated - just now with a 94.7% finish rate instead of 100%. Hard to complain about that.

He's human, but he might be the best welterweight on the planet anyway. Now it's up to Belal Muhammad to prove otherwise.

Judges strike again

The resurgence of Alexander Volkov as a genuine heavyweight title contender has been a treat to witness. And it's a shame the judges ruined what should've been the biggest moment of his career.

Volkov came into his rematch with Ciryl Gane as a heavy underdog and having lost to him in 2021, but he made it a completely different fight than before. Volkov outstruck and outgrappled Gane en route to what most people felt should've been a decision victory - but judges Adalaide Byrd and Junichiro Kamijo gifted Gane the win instead.

Volkov was furious afterward, which is understandable for a fighter who was on a five-fight winning streak, might've gotten a title shot had he beaten Gane, and will now get only half his pay.

Volkov has always seemed to lose the big fights just like he (officially) did Saturday, but don't let the scorecards fool you: Volkov was the winner this time, and the UFC should treat him as such. For a guy who has been nothing more than a gatekeeper for most of his Octagon career, it's pretty remarkable that he legitimately might be one of the four best heavyweights on the planet.

Topuria-Evloev is inevitable

Whether it's now or later, Movsar Evloev has to fight Ilia Topuria. It's as simple as that.

Topuria, the UFC featherweight champion, and Evloev, the No. 5-ranked contender, came onto the scene around the same time and were once considered the two best prospects in the division. In fact, they were scheduled to fight in January 2022 but it never happened. Now they are two of the best fighters in the division. (And Topuria is one of the best in the world, period.)

Evloev could challenge Topuria after his victory over former bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling at UFC 310, and no one would bat an eye. Unfortunately for Evloev, Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes are also in the mix, so a title shot might not come right away. But a matchup between Topuria and Evloev - who are a combined 35-0 in pro MMA - feels inevitable, and it would be awesome.