Dagestan 2-3 and forget is the difference between Kai potentially being a world champion and him actually losing to an old ass Tim Eliott. Luckily for Kai, Cameron isn't a wrestler. In fact he has zero recorded or attempted takedowns in the UFC and if i am assessing this fight as a purely striking matchup, I do have to favor Kai. He is more mobile, a little faster and has more power. Cameron's path to success here would be to, no pun intended, smother Kai. Get him against the cage and work from there. Staying in the middle of the Octagon and giving Kai room to move is not a good gameplan, especially in the bigger Octagon. Kai is the pick and his entire career likely comes down to the outcome of this fight because he is not winning and not cheap.

Kai Asakura

Kai Asakura is a 135lber who was trying to find success in the UFC at 125lbs, but couldn't so he's back up. 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 problem is, he has no takedown defense whatsoever and is coming off his second UFC loss because of this.

Cameron Smotherman

Cameron Smotherman is a patient and accurate striker who will throw in combinations. He isn't particularly busy but he manages striking distance well. His takedown defense is ok, but if he ends up on the ground he doesn't have much to offer. He is coming off the decision loss to Ricky Simon where he was taken down 3 times but made it competitive. More recently he was booked against Ricky Turcious at UFC 324 and he collapsed at weigh-ins