What the hell has Kai Asakura done to be a 3-1 favorite here? I get that his loss was to Pantoja, but he has zero wins over anyone established and until we see him have any success at all, we have to be cautious. I get that Eliott is old and coming back after an extended layoff, but I also get that he has fought some of the best fighters on planet earth and has been competitive. Am I about to pick a 38 year old coming off a 2 year layoff and some wild personal stuff where his teammate was banging his wife on his wedding night? Yea, I am. If the pick is wrong, will I be upset about it? No, but I am sure you will.

Tim Elliott

Tim Elliott is the definition of grit. He constantly comes forward and makes every fight dirty. He puts on tons of pressure has tons of volume and will stay in your face the entire time, even if he is on the wrong side of the exchanges. His striking is not technical but it can be effective for him because of his forward movement. His best asset is definitely his grappling. He moves really well on the ground and has submissions from everywhere. He is coming off the submission win over Sumadaerji almost 2 years ago.

Kai Asakura

Kai Asakura is a 135lber who is trying to find success in the UFC at 125lbs. Style wise he is a fast and aggressive striker that thrives in the Pride style rules that allows knees, and kicks to the head. He is lightening fast, very creative and has a ton of killer instinct. He never lets off the gas and has no issue putting himself in harms way to find a finish. He is very mobile and very hard to corner. The takedown defense is the biggest question and unfortunately it did get answered in his last fight when he was taken down 3 times and submitted by Pantoja.