Overview
- UFC officials announced Thursday that Asakura will face Smotherman at Fight Night 277 on May 30 at Galaxy Arena in Macau on a card headlined by Song Yadong vs. Deiveson Figueiredo.
- Asakura returns to bantamweight for the first time in his UFC tenure after submission losses to Alexandre Pantoja and Tim Elliott at 125 pounds.
- The Macau booking brings Smotherman back after his January UFC 324 weigh-in collapse, an incident that highlighted the health risks of severe weight cuts.
- Both fighters enter on losing streaks as Asakura seeks his first UFC win at 0–2 and Smotherman looks to rebound at 1–2.
- Asakura, a former RIZIN bantamweight champion with a large Japanese following, said on X he will show an “evolved” version at 135 pounds.